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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: kid · wake · content · nail · chest · mark · capital · rest

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  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. mark — a trace
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. content — happy
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wake — a trail
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. rest — what's left
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. rest — what's left
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. capital — a city
  17. content — the amount
  18. mark — a grade
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. kid — child
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. rest — a break
  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