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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. charge — electricity
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. charge — a price
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. object — an aim
  7. charge — in control
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. object — a thing
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. degree — temperature
  15. object — to protest
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. cold — not warm
  19. degree — from a university
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. degree — an amount
  23. cold — an illness
  24. safe — out of danger

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