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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: content · chip · stock · key · kid · scale · capital · press

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. chip — to eat
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. scale — size or range
  5. press — to push
  6. key — in music
  7. capital — money
  8. chip — for betting
  9. key — for a lock
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. stock — shares
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. kid — child
  15. press — a publisher
  16. content — the amount
  17. stock — goods
  18. key — the most important part
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. capital — a city
  22. press — newspapers
  23. scale — in music
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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