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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. capital — a city
  3. chest — a box
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. charge — a price
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. capital — money
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. clip — a video
  11. charge — in control
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. clip — for paper
  15. charge — electricity
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rash — hasty
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — thin
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. lean — to bend
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rash — a series
  24. clip — to cut

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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