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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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Word bank
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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: content · chest · wax · suit · wake · clip · capital · bound

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. capital — a city
  6. bound — obliged
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. clip — for paper
  9. suit — to fit
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. chest — of your body
  12. suit — in cards
  13. bound — certain
  14. clip — a video
  15. content — the amount
  16. capital — money
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wax — to grow
  19. suit — clothes
  20. content — happy
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wake — a trail
  24. chest — a box

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