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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: board · cold · mate · ball · wave · fork · track · capital

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. track — a path
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. ball — a dance
  6. mate — to breed
  7. capital — a city
  8. track — a song
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. ball — a great time
  11. track — to keep track
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fork — in a road
  14. board — to get on
  15. mate — a partner
  16. capital — money
  17. mate — a friend
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. cold — the Cold War

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