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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · ball · court · stand · tear · can · cell · capital

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ball — a dance
  4. court — of a king
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. game — a match
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. game — wild animals
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. can — a tin
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. court — for sport
  14. stand — to bear
  15. tear — to rip
  16. court — of law
  17. cell — in biology
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. ball — a great time
  20. can — to be able to
  21. cell — a phone
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. tear — from crying

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