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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 · bowl · capital · pit · jam · shower · game · lie

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. capital — a city
  3. pit — a hole
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. capital — money
  6. shower — to wash
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. lie — to recline
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. court — of a king
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. court — for sport
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. court — of law
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. game — a match
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. pit — in a race
  24. shower — rain

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