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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. net — for catching
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bass — the fish
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. net — after costs
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. net — in sport
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to click
  16. charge — electricity
  17. bass — low music
  18. cell — a phone
  19. capital — money
  20. charge — in control
  21. cell — in biology
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. capital — a city

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