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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. cap — a hat
  4. capital — money
  5. staff — employees
  6. march — music
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. court — for sport
  9. staff — a stick
  10. capital — a city
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. spell — letters
  13. cap — of ice
  14. hand — help
  15. spell — magic
  16. fine — high quality
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. fine — all right
  20. court — of a king
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cap — a lid
  23. staff — employees
  24. spell — a short time

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