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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. capital — a city
  5. squash — to crush
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. spell — magic
  9. craft — a skill
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. spell — letters
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. court — of law
  14. court — for sport
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. squash — the sport
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. spell — a short time
  19. court — of a king
  20. fine — high quality
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. capital — money

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