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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — a thing
  7. chair — a leader
  8. season — in sport
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. court — of a king
  11. tear — to rip
  12. court — for sport
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. court — of law
  15. capital — a city
  16. object — to protest
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. season — of the year
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. tear — from crying
  23. capital — money
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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