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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: firm · capital · ball · court · file · foot · fall · hand

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. firm — decided
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. hand — in cards
  5. firm — steady
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. court — of law
  9. foot — a measure
  10. court — for sport
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. firm — a company
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. capital — a city
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. court — of a king
  18. capital — money
  19. fall — to drop
  20. ball — a great time
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. ball — a dance

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