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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. charge — a price
  3. mine — for digging
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. charge — in control
  6. charge — electricity
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. capital — money
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. ground — the earth
  12. net — for catching
  13. bank — for money
  14. net — after costs
  15. bank — for money
  16. capital — a city
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bank — of a river
  21. ground — a position
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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