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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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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: club · calf · capital · cold · court · season · nail · can

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. club — for dancing
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cold — not warm
  6. season — in sport
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. season — of the year
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. can — a tin
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. club — for golf
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. court — of law
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. court — for sport
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. club — a group

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