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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: fork · court · capital · file · bound · kick · cue · mate

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bound — tied together
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. court — of law
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cue — a signal
  8. fork — in a road
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cue — a hint
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. cue — for pool
  13. kick — in football
  14. mate — a partner
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. bound — obliged
  17. mate — to breed
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. capital — a city
  22. mate — a friend
  23. file — a document
  24. bound — certain

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