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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. court — of law
  5. capital — money
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. net — after costs
  8. cue — a hint
  9. tear — from crying
  10. court — for sport
  11. cue — a signal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. cue — for pool
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — clever
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. capital — a city
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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