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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 116 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: wake · content · march · lean · last · can · sharp · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. last — final
  3. content — happy
  4. capital — money
  5. lean — thin
  6. can — a tin
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. march — the month
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. march — music
  11. sharp — clever
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. last — finally
  15. content — the amount
  16. can — to be able to
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. can — a tin
  20. wake — a trail
  21. march — the month
  22. lean — to bend
  23. last — to go on
  24. capital — a big letter

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