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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 116 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: nail · rash · content · pound · capital · wax · branch · cap

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. capital — a city
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. branch — a division
  17. capital — money
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cap — a hat
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. cap — a lid
  22. pound — a weight
  23. cap — of ice
  24. capital — a big letter

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