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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. mine — for digging
  3. season — in sport
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. charge — a price
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. season — of the year
  10. ball — a dance
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. ball — a great time
  13. root — the cause
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. charge — in control
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — of a word

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