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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: chip · content · rule · capital · nail · staff · bound · spell

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. capital — a city
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. chip — to eat
  7. staff — employees
  8. spell — letters
  9. rule — a law
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bound — obliged
  12. spell — a short time
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. content — happy
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. spell — magic
  18. bound — certain
  19. capital — money
  20. bound — tied together
  21. content — the amount
  22. staff — employees
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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