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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. last — final
  3. rest — what's left
  4. court — for sport
  5. capital — money
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. rest — a break
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pit — a hole
  11. court — of law
  12. last — to go on
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. last — finally
  16. court — of a king
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — in music
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. rest — what's left
  22. band — a ring
  23. stand — to bear
  24. band — a music group

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