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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: land · capital · stand · key · hand · court · ground · pop

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. capital — a city
  3. key — in music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pop — soda
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. court — of a king
  8. hand — help
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. land — ground
  12. court — of law
  13. court — for sport
  14. key — for a lock
  15. ground — a position
  16. capital — money
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — crushed
  19. key — the most important part
  20. hand — in cards
  21. land — a country
  22. stand — to bear
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — to visit

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