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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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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: roll · kick · land · capital · court · pound · wax · board

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pound — a weight
  4. land — to come down
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. kick — in football
  7. wax — to grow
  8. land — ground
  9. capital — a city
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. roll — a cake
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. court — for sport
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. court — of a king
  16. roll — a list
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. court — of law
  20. board — a committee
  21. capital — money
  22. land — a country
  23. board — to get on
  24. kick — with a leg

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