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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: chip · race · drill · pop · content · capital

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. drill — a practice
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. chip — to eat
  6. capital — money
  7. pop — to visit
  8. drill — army training
  9. race — humankind
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. race — the arms race
  12. drill — the tool
  13. pop — soda
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. race — a contest
  17. content — happy
  18. content — the amount

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