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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. charge — a price
  3. chest — a box
  4. capital — money
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. club — for golf
  7. charge — electricity
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bore — to drill
  10. kick — in football
  11. bore — to tire
  12. club — a group
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. chest — of your body
  17. band — a ring
  18. charge — in control
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. chest — of your body
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. capital — a city
  24. club — for dancing

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