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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. capital — money
  3. charge — a price
  4. bat — the animal
  5. press — to push
  6. content — happy
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. capital — a city
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. game — wild animals
  14. press — a publisher
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. vault — a safe
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. charge — electricity
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. press — newspapers

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