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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — a group
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. bound — certain
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — there
  13. spell — magic
  14. bound — obliged
  15. capital — money
  16. bound — tied together
  17. club — for golf
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. spell — letters
  21. present — the time now
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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