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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. capital — money
  3. ground — the earth
  4. charge — in control
  5. craft — boats
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. ground — a position
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. charge — a price
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. ground — crushed
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. wake — a trail
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. degree — from a university
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. degree — an amount
  21. capital — a city
  22. degree — temperature
  23. craft — a skill
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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