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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 120 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: clip · cabinet · content · board · cold · can · capital · hand

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. board — to get on
  3. content — the amount
  4. clip — for paper
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. can — to be able to
  9. can — a tin
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. clip — to cut
  12. capital — a city
  13. clip — a video
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. hand — in cards
  18. cold — an illness
  19. content — happy
  20. hand — help
  21. can — a tin
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. board — a committee
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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