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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: ground · wax · kid · last · bowl · game · capital · racket

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. game — wild animals
  5. ground — crushed
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. last — final
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. last — finally
  11. game — a match
  12. kid — child
  13. last — to go on
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. capital — money
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. capital — a city
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. wax — to grow

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