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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. court — of law
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. court — of a king
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. capital — a city
  9. spring — of water
  10. branch — a division
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bound — obliged
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — the season
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. ball — a great time
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bound — certain
  19. ball — a dance
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. court — for sport
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bound — tied together

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