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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: wake · spring · row · capital · pop · temple · court · kid

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pop — music
  3. row — to paddle
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — a trail
  6. spring — the season
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. row — a line
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. spring — of water
  12. court — for sport
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. pop — soda
  15. kid — child
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pop — to visit
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. court — of law
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. kid — to tease
  24. capital — money

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