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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: spring · game · court · leaves · mate · capital · present · fall

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. game — wild animals
  3. present — a gift
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. mate — a partner
  10. game — a match
  11. fall — the season
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — to breed
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. court — of law
  16. capital — money
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. fall — to drop
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. spring — of water
  22. present — the time now
  23. fall — to drop
  24. present — there

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