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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.

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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. root — of a word
  4. drill — the tool
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. capital — a city
  9. charge — electricity
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. drill — army training
  12. root — the cause
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. capital — money
  17. charge — in control
  18. root — of a plant
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — in music
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. drill — a practice
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — clever

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