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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. capital — a city
  4. last — final
  5. capital — money
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. swing — music
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — a phone
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. swing — in golf
  12. charge — in control
  13. swing — to play on
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. branch — a division
  20. charge — a price
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. charge — electricity
  24. rush — hurry

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