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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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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. capital — a city
  3. cue — a hint
  4. rush — hurry
  5. board — to get on
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. content — the amount
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. staff — employees
  11. wake — a trail
  12. mine — for digging
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cue — a signal
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cue — for pool
  19. content — happy
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. board — a committee
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. capital — money
  24. rush — a thrill

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