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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. capital — a city
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. saw — the tool
  5. ball — a dance
  6. season — in sport
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. court — of a king
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. court — for sport
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. season — of the year
  16. ball — a great time
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. court — of law
  20. capital — money
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — to handle
  23. squash — to crush
  24. ball — a round shape

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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