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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: court · pop · net · trunk · date · key · rest · capital

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pop — soda
  3. capital — money
  4. court — of a king
  5. key — the most important part
  6. pop — music
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. net — in sport
  9. court — for sport
  10. date — the fruit
  11. key — for a lock
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. key — in music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. rest — what's left
  19. court — of law
  20. rest — a break
  21. rest — what's left
  22. net — after costs
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pop — to visit

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