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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. club — for golf
  3. capital — money
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. fall — to drop
  7. capital — a city
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chip — to eat
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. fall — to drop
  14. club — for dancing
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. game — a match
  17. chip — for betting
  18. plane — a tool
  19. fall — the season
  20. charge — a price
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. charge — in control
  24. club — a group

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