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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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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: rule · capital · spring · perch · present · field · court · deal

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. spring — a coil
  3. court — of a king
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. court — for sport
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — government
  10. field — a subject
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. capital — money
  13. court — of law
  14. present — the time now
  15. deal — to handle
  16. capital — a city
  17. present — a gift
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. perch — the fish

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