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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.

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: game · court · season · dip · mine · calf · fork · capital

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mine — for digging
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. court — for sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. capital — money
  15. court — of law
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. game — a match
  19. fork — in a road
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. season — in sport
  22. game — wild animals
  23. capital — a city
  24. dip — to sink

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