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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. bass — low music
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. perch — the fish
  6. charge — in control
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — a practice
  9. spell — magic
  10. charge — electricity
  11. spell — letters
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spell — a short time
  18. date — the fruit
  19. capital — money
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. drill — the tool
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. date — on the calendar

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