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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 120 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  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. court — for sport
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. can — a tin
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. pop — to visit
  6. court — of law
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. capital — a city
  9. current — electric
  10. scale — in music
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pop — music
  13. bass — the fish
  14. court — of a king
  15. current — of water
  16. can — to be able to
  17. can — a tin
  18. current — happening now
  19. pop — soda
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the instrument
  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