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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. kid — child
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. kid — to tease
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. file — a document
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. cap — a hat
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. capital — a city
  15. file — a tool
  16. capital — money
  17. bear — the animal
  18. court — of law
  19. pitch — completely
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. cap — a lid
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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