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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: kid · court · rock · capital · branch · straw · bowl · content

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. branch — a division
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. kid — child
  10. rock — a stone
  11. court — of a king
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. court — for sport
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rock — music
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. capital — money
  24. content — videos and posts

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