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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. kid — child
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. capital — a city
  11. club — a group
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. club — for dancing
  17. court — for sport
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. club — for golf
  24. ground — the earth

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