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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. charge — a price
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chip — to eat
  6. perch — the fish
  7. charge — electricity
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chip — for betting
  14. ground — a position
  15. current — happening now
  16. ground — crushed
  17. capital — money
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. current — of water
  20. current — electric
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. charge — in control
  23. chest — a box
  24. capital — a big letter

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