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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
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: kid · content · ball · capital · board · march · wax · land

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. march — the month
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a committee
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. land — to come down
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. kid — child
  11. content — happy
  12. capital — money
  13. march — music
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. land — a country
  17. ball — a great time
  18. land — ground
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. kid — to tease
  21. wax — to grow
  22. capital — a city
  23. march — the month
  24. ball — a dance

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