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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 · bat · bowl · land · trunk · capital · chest

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. chest — a box
  4. bat — the animal
  5. capital — a city
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. tear — from crying
  10. charge — a price
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. land — ground
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. tear — from crying
  20. charge — electricity
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. charge — in control
  23. capital — money
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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