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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. capital — money
  3. court — for sport
  4. hand — in cards
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. court — of a king
  8. bass — low music
  9. band — a music group
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. rash — hasty
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. band — a ring
  15. bass — the fish
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. rash — a series
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. capital — a city
  20. court — of law
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. toast — bread
  24. present — a gift

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