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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. court — of law
  3. tube — a container
  4. kid — to tease
  5. lean — to bend
  6. capital — a city
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. lean — thin
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. kid — child
  13. capital — money
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. court — of a king
  16. fine — high quality
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. court — for sport
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. tube — the underground
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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