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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: capital · rush · lie · chip · racket · court · cold · wax

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. chip — to eat
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. chip — for betting
  7. rush — hurry
  8. cold — an illness
  9. capital — money
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. court — of law
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. court — for sport
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. wax — to grow
  22. court — of a king
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. cold — not warm

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