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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: temple · straw · capital · content · mark · wax · racket · fall

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — a grade
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. capital — money
  22. wax — to grow
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. straw — a straw man

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