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

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. capital — money
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. staff — employees
  9. court — of law
  10. cue — for pool
  11. cue — a hint
  12. snap — to click
  13. fork — in a road
  14. staff — employees
  15. wax — to grow
  16. capital — a city
  17. court — of a king
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cue — a signal
  20. staff — a stick
  21. roll — a cake
  22. roll — a list
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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