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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: sharp · wave · drill · tube · field · capital · court · bowl

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. court — of a king
  6. field — farmland
  7. court — for sport
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. field — for sport
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. drill — army training
  15. tube — a container
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. drill — a practice
  18. capital — a city
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. tube — the underground
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. field — a subject
  23. capital — money
  24. sharp — clever

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