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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: file · swing · capital · deal · content · mark · wax · row

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. file — a line of people
  3. mark — a grade
  4. capital — a city
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. content — the amount
  8. deal — to handle
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. file — a document
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. file — a tool
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. content — happy
  17. swing — to play on
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. swing — in golf
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. mark — a trace
  23. wax — to grow
  24. swing — music

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