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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fall — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. rush — hurry
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. court — of a king
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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