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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: capital · fall · chip · swing · wax · lean · content · scale

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. chip — for betting
  4. swing — to play on
  5. fall — to drop
  6. content — the amount
  7. scale — in music
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. fall — to drop
  10. chip — to eat
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. swing — music
  14. content — happy
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. wax — to grow
  18. fall — the season
  19. swing — in golf
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. lean — to bend
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. scale — size or range

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