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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. court — of a king
  3. rush — hurry
  4. capital — a city
  5. court — of law
  6. wind — moving air
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. land — ground
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — a series
  12. can — a tin
  13. land — a country
  14. wind — moving air
  15. can — to be able to
  16. can — a tin
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. capital — money
  19. land — to come down
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. court — for sport

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