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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. court — of law
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. mark — a grade
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. row — a line
  13. kid — to tease
  14. capital — money
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pass — a permit
  17. march — the month
  18. court — of a king
  19. capital — a city
  20. kid — child
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. mark — a trace
  23. row — a quarrel
  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