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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. charge — electricity
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. chair — a leader
  10. rash — a series
  11. bulb — for light
  12. capital — money
  13. net — after costs
  14. fall — the season
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. charge — in control
  18. charge — a price
  19. net — in sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bulb — for light
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. net — for catching

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