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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 116 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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. court — of a king
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. capital — money
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. court — for sport
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. deal — to handle
  15. content — the amount
  16. court — of law
  17. fine — high quality
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. fine — all right
  20. capital — a city
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. content — happy

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