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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: land · spell · cap · clip · content · coach · sharp · wave

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. land — a country
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. cap — of ice
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. spell — letters
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. clip — for paper
  12. spell — magic
  13. clip — a video
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. content — the amount
  17. clip — to cut
  18. sharp — clever
  19. spell — a short time
  20. cap — a hat
  21. land — to come down
  22. content — happy
  23. cap — a lid
  24. sharp — with an edge

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