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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. march — the month
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. march — music
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — clever
  10. charge — electricity
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. capital — a city
  14. season — in sport
  15. clip — a video
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. season — of the year
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. march — the month
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. charge — in control
  24. pitch — completely

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