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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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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 · ball · pitcher · land · track · pass · capital · chip

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. ball — a dance
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. capital — money
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. chip — for betting
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. ball — a great time
  16. land — to come down
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. land — ground
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a path
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. track — a song
  23. pass — a permit
  24. chip — to eat

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