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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: drill · sharp · court · mate · capital · nail · content · swing

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  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. court — of a king
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mate — a partner
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — music
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. content — the amount
  11. court — for sport
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. drill — army training
  14. capital — money
  15. mate — to breed
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. sharp — clever
  21. capital — a city
  22. court — of law
  23. mate — a friend
  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