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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. fall — the season
  3. capital — a city
  4. fall — to drop
  5. club — a group
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. game — wild animals
  8. rule — government
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. fall — to drop
  11. game — a match
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bass — the fish
  14. court — of law
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bass — low music
  18. club — for dancing
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. capital — money
  21. court — of a king
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. club — for golf
  24. court — for sport

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