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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. court — for sport
  4. dip — to sink
  5. capital — money
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — music
  8. face — to confront
  9. field — a subject
  10. face — part of the head
  11. capital — a city
  12. field — for sport
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. court — of a king
  15. cap — of ice
  16. field — farmland
  17. cap — a hat
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. face — to point toward
  20. swing — to play on
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. cap — a lid

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