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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. capital — a city
  3. court — of law
  4. land — to come down
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. court — of a king
  7. land — ground
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. present — there
  10. cold — not warm
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. game — a match
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. land — a country
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. court — for sport
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. present — a gift
  24. cold — an illness

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