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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. board — a committee
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. ground — crushed
  6. court — for sport
  7. sharp — clever
  8. ground — the earth
  9. land — to come down
  10. board — to get on
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. land — ground
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. court — of law
  18. court — of a king
  19. kick — in football
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. ground — a position
  22. land — a country
  23. dip — to sink
  24. capital — money

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