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

Word bank: tear · rule · fork · court · capital · track

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. track — a path
  3. court — of a king
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. capital — a city
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. court — for sport
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — a law
  13. capital — money
  14. fork — in a road
  15. track — to keep track
  16. tear — from crying
  17. track — a song
  18. court — of law

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