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

Word bank: stem · content · capital · game · cap · bank · board · race

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. race — humankind
  3. capital — a city
  4. bank — for money
  5. board — to get on
  6. cap — a hat
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cap — a lid
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. stem — to come from
  12. capital — money
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — a match
  16. race — a contest
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. board — a committee
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bank — for money
  21. race — the arms race
  22. content — happy
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bank — of a river

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