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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: lean · mark · content · wax · capital · spell · wind · bear

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. spell — magic
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bear — the animal
  10. content — happy
  11. mark — a grade
  12. capital — a city
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. capital — money
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. spell — letters
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. spell — a short time
  21. content — the amount
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. mark — a trace

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