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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: court · cue · spell · tube · bowl · capital · sharp · snap

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. capital — money
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. spell — magic
  5. cue — a hint
  6. snap — to click
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cue — for pool
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. capital — a city
  11. court — of a king
  12. tube — the underground
  13. cue — a signal
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. court — of law
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. sharp — clever
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. tube — a container
  21. court — for sport
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. tube — in a tire

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