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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. capital — a city
  7. track — a path
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. season — of the year
  14. track — a song
  15. court — of a king
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. capital — money
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bore — to tire
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. court — of law
  24. bear — the animal

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