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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stand · cell · court · toast · capital · bound

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. 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. toast — bread
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. capital — a city
  8. court — of a king
  9. bound — certain
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. cell — a phone
  14. court — of law
  15. stand — to bear
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. court — for sport
  18. 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