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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: kid · capital · lie · bore · stick · ball · content · wake

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bore — to tire
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. capital — money
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. ball — a dance
  9. lie — to recline
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bore — to drill
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. capital — a city
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. kid — to tease
  18. content — the amount
  19. wake — a trail
  20. kid — child
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. lie — an untruth

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