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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: capital · can · content · wax · clip · nail · craft · mug

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mug — a cup
  5. clip — a video
  6. capital — a city
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. craft — a skill
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. craft — boats
  12. mug — to rob
  13. capital — money
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wax — to grow
  17. can — a tin
  18. content — happy
  19. mug — a face
  20. can — to be able to
  21. content — the amount
  22. clip — for paper
  23. can — a tin
  24. nail — for a hammer

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