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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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. court — of a king
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a music group
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pit — in a race
  11. capital — money
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. saw — the tool
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. pit — a hole
  18. fall — the season
  19. saw — the tool
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. kick — in football

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