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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — in control
  4. march — the month
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. capital — money
  7. charge — a price
  8. march — music
  9. band — a music group
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. ball — a dance
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. scale — in music
  17. ball — a great time
  18. capital — a city
  19. scale — size or range
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. band — a ring
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. march — the month

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