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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: mark · land · content · capital · saw · object · mine · court

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. court — of a king
  3. object — to protest
  4. saw — the tool
  5. court — of law
  6. capital — a city
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. land — a country
  13. object — a thing
  14. content — the amount
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. object — an aim
  17. court — for sport
  18. mine — for digging
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. content — happy
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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