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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. spell — letters
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. court — of a king
  5. mate — a partner
  6. capital — money
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. prune — to trim
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. prune — to trim
  14. sharp — clever
  15. spell — a short time
  16. content — happy
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. mate — to breed
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. spell — magic
  22. mate — a friend
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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