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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. object — to protest
  4. cap — a hat
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a lid
  8. court — of a king
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. capital — a city
  12. branch — a division
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. mine — for digging
  16. court — of law
  17. object — a thing
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. stand — to bear
  20. object — an aim
  21. capital — money
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. stand — for spectators

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