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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. capital — money
  3. fall — to drop
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. spring — of water
  6. fall — the season
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. net — in sport
  10. ground — a position
  11. charge — in control
  12. spring — the season
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. net — after costs
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. capital — a city
  18. ball — a dance
  19. spring — a coil
  20. net — for catching
  21. fall — to drop
  22. charge — a price
  23. tear — from crying
  24. ball — a great time

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