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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fall — to drop
  6. object — an aim
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. object — to protest
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. cell — in biology
  13. court — for sport
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. staff — a stick
  16. pass — a permit
  17. court — of a king
  18. fall — the season
  19. capital — a city
  20. staff — employees
  21. object — a thing
  22. cell — a phone
  23. capital — money
  24. staff — employees

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