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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 120 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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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 · lash · cap · court · content · squash · present · kick

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. content — happy
  3. court — of a king
  4. cap — of ice
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cap — a hat
  8. squash — to crush
  9. kick — in football
  10. present — a gift
  11. court — for sport
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. court — of law
  14. squash — the sport
  15. present — the time now
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. cap — a lid
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. content — the amount
  22. present — there
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. content — videos and posts

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