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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 116 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rest — what's left
  3. charge — a price
  4. capital — a city
  5. rest — a break
  6. charge — in control
  7. squash — the sport
  8. capital — money
  9. charge — electricity
  10. key — in music
  11. season — of the year
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. key — for a lock
  14. rest — what's left
  15. key — the most important part
  16. vault — a safe
  17. squash — to crush
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — in sport
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. shower — rain
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. shower — to wash

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