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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.

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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 · mark · mug · band · kid · shower · court · face

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. face — part of the head
  3. shower — rain
  4. band — a ring
  5. face — to point toward
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. kid — to tease
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. band — a music group
  10. face — to confront
  11. shower — to wash
  12. court — for sport
  13. mark — a trace
  14. capital — a city
  15. mug — to rob
  16. capital — money
  17. court — of a king
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mug — a cup
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. mug — a face
  24. kid — child

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