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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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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: wake · wave · capital · kid · season · board · fan · bowl

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. capital — a city
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. board — a committee
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. kid — child
  13. board — to get on
  14. kid — to tease
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. season — in sport
  18. wake — a trail
  19. capital — money
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. season — of the year
  24. board — a flat piece

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