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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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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 · spring · degree · chip · capital · stick · object · content

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. spring — the season
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. capital — money
  5. board — a committee
  6. content — happy
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. object — a thing
  11. content — the amount
  12. chip — for betting
  13. spring — of water
  14. chip — to eat
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. board — to get on
  21. object — an aim
  22. spring — a coil
  23. object — to protest
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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