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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. court — of a king
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cap — a lid
  7. charge — electricity
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. mine — for digging
  10. capital — money
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. cap — of ice
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — in football
  17. charge — in control
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. capital — a city
  20. charge — a price
  21. court — for sport
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. mine — an explosive

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