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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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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: nail · sharp · capital · pitcher · tear · racket · court · spell

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. court — of a king
  3. spell — a short time
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. capital — money
  7. spell — magic
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. capital — a city
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. court — of law
  18. spell — letters
  19. tear — from crying
  20. court — for sport
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — clever
  24. tear — from crying

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