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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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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: toast · capital · deal · kid · season · wake · ball · march

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. capital — a city
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. kid — to tease
  5. march — the month
  6. toast — bread
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — to handle
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wake — a trail
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. capital — money
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a great time
  18. march — the month
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. march — music
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — of the year
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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