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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 · jam · fan · court · bulb · game · sharp · ball

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  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. capital — money
  2. court — of a king
  3. game — wild animals
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. court — for sport
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. capital — a city
  15. court — of law
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. ball — a dance
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bulb — for light
  21. ball — a great time
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. sharp — clever

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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