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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. capital — a city
  3. spring — of water
  4. rash — a series
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. shower — rain
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — hasty
  9. charge — a price
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. game — a match
  13. spring — the season
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. charge — electricity
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. game — wild animals
  19. spring — a coil
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. shower — to wash
  23. capital — money
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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