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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: board · content · cell · cap · capital · wax · prune · season

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. content — happy
  8. cap — a hat
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. board — a committee
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. board — to get on
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cap — a lid
  17. season — of the year
  18. prune — to trim
  19. capital — a city
  20. content — the amount
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. capital — money
  23. wax — to grow
  24. prune — to trim

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