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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. court — of a king
  7. craft — a skill
  8. cap — a lid
  9. land — to come down
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. land — ground
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. craft — boats
  15. land — a country
  16. pitch — completely
  17. degree — from a university
  18. capital — money
  19. degree — an amount
  20. capital — a city
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. cap — of ice
  23. court — for sport
  24. cap — a hat

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