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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. land — to come down
  4. row — to paddle
  5. present — there
  6. court — for sport
  7. present — a gift
  8. swing — in golf
  9. court — of a king
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. court — of law
  13. present — the time now
  14. swing — to play on
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. row — a line
  19. dip — to sink
  20. capital — money
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. capital — a city
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. swing — music

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