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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. swing — in golf
  3. capital — money
  4. land — to come down
  5. perch — the fish
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. land — a country
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. court — of a king
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — music
  14. rock — a stone
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. foot — a measure
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. court — of law
  20. rock — music
  21. land — ground
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. foot — part of the body

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