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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. court — for sport
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. present — the time now
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. capital — money
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. present — a gift
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. present — there
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. court — of a king
  21. shower — rain
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. court — of law
  24. capital — a city

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