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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: capital · board · track · mine · squash · chair · content · bound

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. track — a song
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. content — happy
  8. bound — certain
  9. board — a committee
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — tied together
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. squash — to crush
  15. capital — money
  16. content — the amount
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — the sport
  21. mine — for digging
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. capital — a city
  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