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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: game · cabinet · content · jam · court · capital · present · mug

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. content — happy
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. present — a gift
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. court — for sport
  9. game — a match
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. mug — a face
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. court — of law
  16. content — the amount
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. mug — to rob
  21. present — there
  22. mug — a cup
  23. present — the time now
  24. court — of a king

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