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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 · trunk · kid · ball · deal · capital · object · mate

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. object — to protest
  6. mate — to breed
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. object — a thing
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. mate — a friend
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. object — an aim
  18. ball — a dance
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. kid — child
  22. deal — to handle
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. capital — a big letter

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