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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. last — to go on
  3. key — in music
  4. last — finally
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — certain
  7. rash — a series
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. capital — money
  10. key — the most important part
  11. capital — a city
  12. key — for a lock
  13. rash — hasty
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bound — obliged
  16. content — the amount
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — happy
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. last — final
  24. nail — on a finger

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