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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: pop · ball · saw · capital · drill · court · wax · season

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. saw — the tool
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. wax — to grow
  7. ball — a great time
  8. drill — a practice
  9. capital — a city
  10. drill — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pop — to visit
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. drill — army training
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. ball — a dance
  20. court — for sport
  21. pop — music
  22. capital — money
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pop — soda

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