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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wax — to grow
  3. snap — to click
  4. face — to confront
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. capital — a city
  7. fine — high quality
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. court — of law
  11. fine — all right
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — part of the head
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. court — of a king
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. court — for sport

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