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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. court — of law
  3. capital — money
  4. club — for golf
  5. capital — a city
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. club — a group
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. club — for dancing
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stand — to bear
  14. snap — to click
  15. court — of a king
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. fork — in a road
  22. court — for sport
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. patient — a sick person

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