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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: rule · content · mate · file · racket · capital · cell · board

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. board — to get on
  4. mate — to breed
  5. rule — government
  6. content — the amount
  7. rule — a law
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. cell — a phone
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. mate — a friend
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. content — happy
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. capital — a city
  16. file — a tool
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. cell — in biology
  19. board — a committee
  20. mate — a partner
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a document
  23. capital — money
  24. racket — for tennis

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