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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 120 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
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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: mark · kick · court · cap · mine · game · wound · capital

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wound — an injury
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cap — a hat
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. cap — a lid
  8. kick — in football
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mine — for digging
  13. cap — of ice
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. mark — a trace
  17. capital — a city
  18. mark — a grade
  19. game — a match
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. capital — money
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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