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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 120 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: branch · staff · kick · capital · wax · lean · cap · content

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. content — the amount
  3. kick — in football
  4. lean — thin
  5. cap — a hat
  6. content — happy
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. staff — a stick
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cap — of ice
  11. branch — a division
  12. capital — money
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wax — to grow
  17. staff — employees
  18. cap — a lid
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. staff — employees
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. capital — a city
  24. wax — for sculpting

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