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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. court — of a king
  3. mug — a cup
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — completely
  6. court — of law
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — a thing
  9. bound — obliged
  10. mug — a face
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. capital — a city
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. capital — money
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. object — to protest
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. clip — a video
  20. mug — to rob
  21. stem — to come from
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. court — for sport
  24. bound — tied together

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