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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: cue · capital · wave · march · content · board · fall · kid

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. capital — money
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. march — the month
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cue — a signal
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fall — to drop
  13. march — the month
  14. content — happy
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. content — the amount
  17. kid — child
  18. fall — the season
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. board — to get on
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — a city
  23. march — music
  24. board — a committee

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