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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: bound · game · lie · cold · content · cap · capital · mug

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. capital — a city
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. mug — to rob
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cap — of ice
  8. mug — a face
  9. bound — obliged
  10. content — the amount
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bound — certain
  15. lie — to recline
  16. content — happy
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mug — a cup
  19. cap — a hat
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — a match
  22. cap — a lid
  23. capital — a big letter
  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