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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: court · ball · foot · shower · trunk · jam · tube · capital

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. court — for sport
  7. tube — the underground
  8. capital — a city
  9. foot — a measure
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. court — of law
  12. ball — a great time
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. ball — a dance
  17. tube — a container
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. court — of a king
  22. shower — rain
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. foot — part of the body

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