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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 116 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. game — wild animals
  3. capital — a city
  4. fall — the season
  5. snap — to click
  6. rest — what's left
  7. court — for sport
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a grade
  10. fall — to drop
  11. capital — money
  12. game — a match
  13. ground — a position
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. fall — to drop
  16. court — of law
  17. rest — what's left
  18. ground — the earth
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. mark — a trace
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rest — a break
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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