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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: wax · fine · chest · face · mate · ground · capital · content

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. mate — a friend
  3. capital — money
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. face — part of the head
  8. mate — to breed
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — to confront
  11. mate — a partner
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wax — to grow
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. chest — of your body
  16. capital — a city
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. fine — high quality
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. ground — crushed

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