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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. club — a group
  4. stem — to come from
  5. court — of law
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. fall — the season
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. deal — to handle
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — for dancing
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. fall — to drop
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. capital — a city
  20. pound — a weight
  21. cold — an illness
  22. capital — money
  23. cold — not warm
  24. court — of a king

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