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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rest — a break
  3. court — of law
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ground — the earth
  6. capital — money
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. tube — the underground
  9. ground — a position
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cold — an illness
  13. capital — a city
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. court — of a king
  16. cold — not warm
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. court — for sport
  20. ball — a dance
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. rest — what's left
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ground — crushed

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