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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. capital — a city
  7. prune — to trim
  8. key — for a lock
  9. ground — the earth
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. key — the most important part
  15. ground — a position
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. ground — crushed
  18. key — in music
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. court — for sport
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bowl — a dish

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