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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — the fruit
  3. ground — a position
  4. court — of a king
  5. capital — a city
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. last — finally
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — crushed
  12. perch — the fish
  13. chest — a box
  14. court — of law
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. last — final
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. capital — money
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. last — to go on
  24. court — for sport

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