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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: chip · file · ball · rest · coach · row · capital · content

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. file — a tool
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. ball — a great time
  6. rest — what's left
  7. content — the amount
  8. rest — a break
  9. row — to paddle
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. row — a line
  12. ball — a dance
  13. chip — to eat
  14. content — happy
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. file — a document
  17. chip — for betting
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. file — a line of people
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. capital — money
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. rest — what's left

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