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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. race — a contest
  5. content — the amount
  6. wax — to grow
  7. rash — a series
  8. content — happy
  9. cue — a hint
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cue — for pool
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — in sport
  15. race — humankind
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. toast — bread
  18. race — the arms race
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. capital — money
  21. cue — a signal
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. rash — hasty
  24. capital — a big letter

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