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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: tube · rush · tear · pop · capital · sharp · swing · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. capital — money
  3. court — of law
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. court — for sport
  7. pop — soda
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rush — hurry
  11. pop — to visit
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. pop — music
  14. swing — to play on
  15. tear — to rip
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. swing — music
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tear — from crying
  20. capital — a city
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. swing — in golf
  24. tube — a container

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