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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. charge — electricity
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. charge — a price
  7. bark — to shout
  8. race — a contest
  9. charge — in control
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. pit — a hole
  12. race — the arms race
  13. stock — shares
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. race — humankind
  16. capital — money
  17. fine — high quality
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. stock — goods
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. wake — a trail

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