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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. swing — to play on
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. kid — child
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. kid — to tease
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. capital — money
  15. march — the month
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. capital — a city
  18. swing — in golf
  19. march — music
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. swing — music
  22. march — the month
  23. board — a committee
  24. court — of a king

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