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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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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 · bear · mark · club · court · capital · spell · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. court — of law
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. club — a group
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. sharp — clever
  9. court — for sport
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. court — of a king
  12. capital — money
  13. club — for dancing
  14. content — the amount
  15. spell — magic
  16. mark — a grade
  17. spell — letters
  18. club — for golf
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mark — a trace
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. spell — a short time
  24. capital — a city

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