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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wound — an injury
  3. suit — to fit
  4. wound — an injury
  5. shower — rain
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. court — for sport
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. court — of law
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. court — of a king
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. content — the amount
  19. suit — clothes
  20. shower — to wash
  21. content — happy
  22. suit — in cards
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

Multiple-meaning words list

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

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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