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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. court — for sport
  3. charge — electricity
  4. tear — from crying
  5. spell — magic
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. vault — a safe
  8. spell — a short time
  9. field — for sport
  10. sharp — clever
  11. charge — in control
  12. field — a subject
  13. tear — to rip
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. field — farmland
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. court — of a king
  20. tear — from crying
  21. spell — letters
  22. charge — a price
  23. capital — money
  24. court — of law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com