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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
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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: bound · suit · season · object · pitcher · court · last · capital

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. last — final
  4. court — for sport
  5. suit — in cards
  6. season — in sport
  7. suit — clothes
  8. object — a thing
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. object — an aim
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. season — of the year
  13. bound — obliged
  14. last — to go on
  15. capital — money
  16. last — finally
  17. bound — certain
  18. capital — a city
  19. suit — to fit
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. object — to protest
  24. court — of law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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