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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 116 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. capital — money
  3. wax — to grow
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. key — the most important part
  6. rash — hasty
  7. key — for a lock
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. key — in music
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. rash — a series
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. row — to paddle
  15. tear — from crying
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tear — to rip
  18. capital — a city
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. rule — a law
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. row — a line
  24. rule — government

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