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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. capital — a city
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. shower — to wash
  7. ground — crushed
  8. court — of law
  9. capital — money
  10. march — the month
  11. court — of a king
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. march — music
  15. shower — rain
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ground — the earth
  18. deal — to handle
  19. wind — moving air
  20. march — the month
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. ground — a position
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a leader

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