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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. court — for sport
  3. capital — money
  4. track — a path
  5. cap — of ice
  6. court — of law
  7. track — to keep track
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ball — a great time
  11. track — a song
  12. cap — a lid
  13. degree — from a university
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. rush — hurry
  17. cap — a hat
  18. degree — an amount
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. degree — temperature
  22. capital — a city
  23. court — of a king
  24. rush — a thrill

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