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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. land — ground
  3. fine — all right
  4. court — of a king
  5. capital — money
  6. hand — in cards
  7. foot — a measure
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. court — for sport
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — to wash
  16. fine — high quality
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. court — of law
  19. hand — help
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. capital — a city
  23. stand — to bear
  24. hand — part of the body

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