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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. capital — a city
  4. court — of law
  5. lean — to bend
  6. fine — all right
  7. spring — of water
  8. rush — hurry
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — in sport
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. spring — the season
  17. season — of the year
  18. fine — high quality
  19. lean — thin
  20. capital — money
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitch — completely
  24. spring — a coil

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