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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. lean — to bend
  4. capital — a city
  5. kid — to tease
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — thin
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. court — of a king
  12. kid — child
  13. plane — a tool
  14. mug — a face
  15. mug — to rob
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. game — wild animals
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. mug — a cup
  24. plane — in geometry

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