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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  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. capital — a city
  2. chip — to eat
  3. board — a committee
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. net — after costs
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. net — for catching
  10. cap — a hat
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. board — to get on
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. net — in sport
  19. capital — money
  20. chip — for betting
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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