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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.

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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: capital · last · court · fine · pound · content · ruler · ball

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. last — final
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. last — to go on
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. ball — a great time
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. ball — a dance
  13. fine — all right
  14. capital — money
  15. court — for sport
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. pound — a weight
  18. court — of law
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. fine — high quality
  21. court — of a king
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. last — finally

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