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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · charge · board · toast · capital · cold

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. board — to get on
  4. capital — a city
  5. charge — electricity
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. charge — a price
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. board — a committee
  11. cold — an illness
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cold — not warm
  15. capital — money
  16. charge — in control
  17. tear — from crying
  18. toast — bread

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