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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 120 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pitch — completely
  6. wound — an injury
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fall — the season
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. game — a match
  15. fall — to drop
  16. lie — to recline
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. court — for sport
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wound — an injury

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