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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 · tear · degree · rule · capital · land

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. land — a country
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rule — government
  5. degree — from a university
  6. charge — a price
  7. land — ground
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. charge — in control
  10. degree — temperature
  11. capital — money
  12. tear — to rip
  13. degree — an amount
  14. tear — from crying
  15. capital — a city
  16. rule — a law
  17. land — to come down
  18. charge — electricity

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