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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. clip — a video
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. court — of a king
  21. capital — a city
  22. toast — bread
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. bowl — to roll

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