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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 116 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 · chair · field · capital · bowl · content · spell · squash

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. spell — magic
  8. capital — money
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. squash — to crush
  11. spell — a short time
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. content — happy
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. chair — a leader
  19. capital — a city
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. spell — letters
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. content — the amount

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