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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. roll — a cake
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. pit — a hole
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. pit — in a race
  7. wound — an injury
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. charge — a price
  11. charge — in control
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. branch — a division
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. wound — an injury
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. game — a match
  21. charge — electricity
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. capital — money
  24. roll — a list

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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