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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: prune · bowl · court · race · capital · squash · ball · arm

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. court — for sport
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. court — of a king
  8. ball — a great time
  9. court — of law
  10. race — the arms race
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. ball — a dance
  13. capital — money
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — the sport
  19. prune — to trim
  20. race — a contest
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. race — humankind
  24. arm — part of the body

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