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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. last — final
  3. wound — an injury
  4. last — finally
  5. court — of law
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. capital — a city
  9. face — to point toward
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. squash — to crush
  16. court — for sport
  17. chip — for betting
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. last — to go on
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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