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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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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 · bulb · kid · court · squash · deal · march · rest

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. deal — to handle
  4. march — the month
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. kid — to tease
  8. squash — the sport
  9. march — music
  10. rest — a break
  11. court — for sport
  12. capital — money
  13. kid — child
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. rest — what's left
  19. court — of a king
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. court — of law
  24. march — the month

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