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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 120 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: season · capital · scale · bowl · fan · sharp · court · fork

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. scale — in music
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. court — of law
  9. capital — a city
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. season — in sport
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. court — for sport
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. scale — size or range
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. capital — money
  24. scale — for weighing

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