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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: charge · deal · chair · capital · hide · bat

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. deal — to handle
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chair — a leader
  7. charge — a price
  8. capital — a city
  9. bat — the animal
  10. charge — in control
  11. charge — electricity
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. capital — money
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. deal — a big deal

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