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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · coach · court · lash · cap · capital · wake · wax

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. land — ground
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. court — of a king
  11. cap — of ice
  12. capital — money
  13. cap — a hat
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. land — a country
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. court — for sport
  18. capital — a city
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. court — of law

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