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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. branch — a division
  4. charge — a price
  5. plane — a tool
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. capital — money
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. charge — electricity
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. charge — in control
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. game — wild animals

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