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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. capital — money
  3. rock — music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. charge — in control
  6. capital — a city
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. ground — crushed
  9. spell — magic
  10. court — of a king
  11. charge — electricity
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. ground — the earth
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. rock — a stone
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. court — of law
  21. charge — a price
  22. row — to paddle
  23. ground — a position
  24. ruler — for measuring

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