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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. degree — an amount
  3. capital — a city
  4. track — a path
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. saw — the tool
  9. court — of a king
  10. track — a song
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. court — of law
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. degree — temperature
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. capital — money
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. track — to keep track
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. saw — the tool

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