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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fall — to drop
  3. club — for golf
  4. content — happy
  5. club — a group
  6. court — of law
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fall — to drop
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. club — for dancing
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. hand — in cards
  18. court — of a king
  19. fall — the season
  20. hand — help
  21. content — the amount
  22. prune — to trim
  23. patient — a sick person
  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