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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. court — for sport
  3. mark — a trace
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. dip — to sink
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. court — of law
  8. bank — for money
  9. chest — of your body
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. capital — a city
  13. kid — child
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. bank — for money
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. chest — a box
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pitch — completely
  20. capital — money
  21. bank — of a river
  22. chest — of your body
  23. court — of a king
  24. mark — a grade

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