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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: key · capital · stand · nail · mark · rush · cold · content

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. capital — money
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stand — to bear
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. content — happy
  8. key — the most important part
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. rush — hurry
  11. capital — a city
  12. key — for a lock
  13. content — the amount
  14. cold — not warm
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mark — a grade
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. key — in music
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. cold — an illness
  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