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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: wave · court · capital · hide · stem · kid · key · drill

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. court — of a king
  3. key — for a lock
  4. capital — money
  5. drill — a practice
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. key — the most important part
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. court — for sport
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. kid — child
  18. drill — army training
  19. court — of law
  20. capital — a city
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. drill — the tool

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