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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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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: court · chair · capital · dip · bound · season · drill · fine

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  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. bound — tied together
  2. season — in sport
  3. fine — all right
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. capital — a city
  6. chair — a leader
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. court — of a king
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bound — obliged
  11. fine — high quality
  12. season — of the year
  13. bound — certain
  14. court — for sport
  15. drill — the tool
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. drill — army training
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. court — of law
  22. drill — a practice
  23. chair — to sit on
  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