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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 120 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bass — the fish
  4. mug — a face
  5. capital — a city
  6. hand — in cards
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bass — low music
  10. mug — a cup
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. field — a subject
  13. hand — help
  14. field — for sport
  15. charge — a price
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. wound — an injury
  20. field — farmland
  21. charge — in control
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mug — to rob

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