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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: cap · mark · bound · capital · cold · object · content · perch

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. content — the amount
  3. cap — of ice
  4. perch — the fish
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cap — a hat
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. object — a thing
  10. content — happy
  11. object — an aim
  12. bound — tied together
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mark — a trace
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cap — a lid
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mark — a grade
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — obliged
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. object — to protest

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