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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: capital · content · sharp · straw · game · court · kid · stand

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. court — for sport
  3. kid — child
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. capital — money
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. stand — to bear
  14. capital — a city
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. content — the amount
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. kid — to tease
  22. game — wild animals
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. sharp — exactly

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