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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. spring — of water
  3. last — final
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. charge — in control
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. can — a tin
  8. tube — the underground
  9. last — finally
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. spring — the season
  13. can — a tin
  14. pop — to visit
  15. can — to be able to
  16. charge — a price
  17. pop — soda
  18. tube — a container
  19. capital — a city
  20. spring — a coil
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a line
  23. last — to go on
  24. pop — music

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