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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
468
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 · safe · bass · lie · fork · game · capital · shower

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. lie — to recline
  3. court — for sport
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. capital — money
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. court — of a king
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. capital — a city
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — to wash
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — low music
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. shower — rain
  23. court — of law
  24. safe — out of danger

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