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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 116 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. court — of law
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. court — for sport
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pound — a weight
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — for pool
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. capital — money
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. court — of a king
  17. cue — a hint
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. capital — a city
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kick — in football
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kick — with a leg

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