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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: wax · land · squash · calf · bass · racket · capital · ball

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ball — a great time
  12. squash — to crush
  13. ball — a dance
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. land — to come down
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. capital — a city
  21. land — ground
  22. bass — low music
  23. squash — the sport
  24. land — a country

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