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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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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: file · club · capital · mate · charge · rest

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. mate — a partner
  3. rest — a break
  4. club — for dancing
  5. charge — in control
  6. club — for golf
  7. mate — a friend
  8. capital — money
  9. club — a group
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rest — what's left
  12. capital — a city
  13. mate — to breed
  14. charge — electricity
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. rest — what's left
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document

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