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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. court — for sport
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cue — a hint
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cue — for pool
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. mine — for digging
  11. rock — music
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. court — of law
  14. capital — a city
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. capital — money
  18. rock — a stone
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. court — of a king
  24. perch — the fish

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