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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. capital — a city
  3. mark — a trace
  4. staff — employees
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. staff — employees
  8. wax — to grow
  9. court — of law
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. staff — a stick
  12. fall — to drop
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. fall — to drop
  15. mark — a grade
  16. capital — money
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — a measure
  21. court — of a king
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. fall — the season

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