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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: leaves · capital · club · straw · mark · prune · court · bat

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. club — a group
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a trace
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. bat — the animal
  9. club — for golf
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. capital — money
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. mark — a grade
  18. prune — to trim
  19. court — of law
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. prune — to trim
  22. club — for dancing
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. court — of a king

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