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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. content — the amount
  3. wax — to grow
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. pop — to visit
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pop — music
  10. chest — a box
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pop — soda
  20. content — happy
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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