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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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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: date · bear · lean · capital · content · spell · race · pass

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. spell — a short time
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. lean — thin
  10. bear — the animal
  11. capital — a city
  12. race — a contest
  13. spell — letters
  14. bear — the animal
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. pass — a permit
  18. spell — magic
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. lean — to bend
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. date — the fruit
  24. capital — money

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