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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: file · board · court · content · stick · capital · jam · mate

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. content — happy
  4. file — a tool
  5. mate — a friend
  6. content — the amount
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. capital — a city
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. file — a document
  15. court — of a king
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. mate — to breed
  18. file — a line of people
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — a committee
  22. board — to get on
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. capital — money

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