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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. capital — a city
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. charge — electricity
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. hand — help
  8. capital — money
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. press — to push
  11. roll — a list
  12. hand — in cards
  13. charge — a price
  14. drill — a practice
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — newspapers
  18. roll — a cake
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — in a road
  24. charge — in control

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