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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: content · fall · wax · ground · nail · capital · clip · lie

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wax — to grow
  3. content — the amount
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. ground — the earth
  6. fall — to drop
  7. capital — money
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. content — happy
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. clip — to cut
  12. capital — a city
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. clip — a video
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ground — crushed
  17. fall — to drop
  18. clip — for paper
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. lie — to recline
  22. fall — the season
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wax — in the ear

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