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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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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: pound · row · chair · bore · capital · chip · rule · content

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. content — the amount
  3. chip — to eat
  4. rule — government
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. chair — a leader
  11. capital — a city
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. chip — for betting
  15. bore — to drill
  16. content — happy
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. row — to paddle
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. row — a line
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bore — to tire
  24. rule — to rule out

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