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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · club · row · race · court · hand · season · capital

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. march — the month
  5. club — for golf
  6. row — a line
  7. court — of law
  8. hand — help
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. race — the arms race
  11. march — the month
  12. capital — money
  13. march — music
  14. race — a contest
  15. club — a group
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. row — to paddle
  18. capital — a city
  19. hand — in cards
  20. race — humankind
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. club — for dancing
  24. court — for sport

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