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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bear — the animal
  4. hand — help
  5. court — of law
  6. capital — money
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. capital — a city
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bear — the animal
  12. club — for dancing
  13. court — for sport
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bulb — for light
  16. club — for golf
  17. bulb — for light
  18. kick — in football
  19. band — a ring
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. club — a group
  23. band — a music group
  24. court — of a king

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