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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. capital — a city
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. shower — to wash
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. charge — in control
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. net — after costs
  10. board — to get on
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. net — in sport
  15. charge — a price
  16. charge — electricity
  17. shower — rain
  18. net — for catching
  19. file — a document
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. file — a tool
  22. board — a committee
  23. stand — to bear
  24. file — a line of people

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