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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 116 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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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 · court · suit · cell · cold · bay · club · tear

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. cold — an illness
  4. court — of law
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. suit — in cards
  10. tear — from crying
  11. club — for dancing
  12. cell — a phone
  13. suit — clothes
  14. cell — in biology
  15. court — for sport
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. club — for golf
  18. court — of a king
  19. suit — to fit
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. capital — a city
  23. club — a group
  24. tear — from crying

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