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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · cue · snap · spell · mark · race · dip · capital

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. race — a contest
  3. court — of law
  4. race — the arms race
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cue — for pool
  8. capital — a city
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. spell — letters
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. court — for sport
  15. snap — to click
  16. court — of a king
  17. cue — a hint
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. dip — to sink
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. spell — magic
  22. race — humankind
  23. spell — a short time
  24. capital — money

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