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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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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: band · sharp · capital · race · wax · court · board · last

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. court — of law
  3. board — to get on
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. race — humankind
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. last — to go on
  10. race — the arms race
  11. band — a music group
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. race — a contest
  14. capital — a city
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — for sport
  17. band — a ring
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. capital — money
  20. sharp — clever
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. board — a committee
  23. wax — to grow
  24. band — a rubber band

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