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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mine — for digging
  3. charge — a price
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. rash — a series
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fork — in a road
  8. file — a tool
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. file — a document
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. rest — a break
  19. charge — in control
  20. capital — money
  21. rest — what's left
  22. charge — electricity
  23. wax — to grow
  24. rash — hasty

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