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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: wave · cabinet · content · prune · capital · ground · court · fork

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. ground — a position
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. content — the amount
  8. court — for sport
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. court — of law
  11. fork — in a road
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. prune — to trim
  14. capital — a city
  15. ground — the earth
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. court — of a king
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. content — happy
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. ground — crushed
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. prune — to trim
  24. capital — money

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