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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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. ground — crushed
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — for light
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. chair — a leader
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — a skill
  11. court — of law
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. court — of a king
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. ground — a position
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. capital — money
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. ground — the earth
  22. lean — thin
  23. capital — a city
  24. craft — boats

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