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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: ground · capital · content · saw · spring · wax · jam · race

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. race — humankind
  3. capital — money
  4. race — a contest
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. race — the arms race
  9. spring — the season
  10. wax — to grow
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. capital — a city
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. content — the amount
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. saw — the tool
  20. spring — a coil
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. saw — the tool

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