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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.

Make a worksheet

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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. capital — money
  6. court — for sport
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. file — a line of people
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. game — wild animals
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. file — a tool
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mine — for digging
  23. file — a document
  24. capital — a city

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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