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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 120 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: board · chest · court · capital · can · chip · content · mate

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. content — the amount
  3. capital — money
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — a partner
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. court — for sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. court — of law
  10. chest — of your body
  11. can — to be able to
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — to eat
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. board — a committee
  16. can — a tin
  17. capital — a city
  18. can — a tin
  19. content — happy
  20. chest — a box
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. court — of a king
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a flat piece

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