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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 124 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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. ground — a position
  3. land — a country
  4. land — ground
  5. court — for sport
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. capital — money
  8. rock — a stone
  9. capital — a city
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. land — to come down
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. court — of a king
  16. ground — the earth
  17. rock — music
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. object — a thing
  20. object — an aim
  21. ground — crushed
  22. object — to protest
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. racket — a loud noise

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