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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
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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: wave · content · ball · coach · land · hand · rush · capital

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. content — happy
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — hurry
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. content — the amount
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. ball — a dance
  13. land — a country
  14. hand — in cards
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. ball — a great time
  18. hand — help
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wave — of the sea

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