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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. march — the month
  6. shower — rain
  7. court — of law
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. march — music
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bass — the fish
  17. march — the month
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — to bear
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. shower — to wash

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