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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mine · capital · season · clip · rush · bark · charge · game

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. game — wild animals
  3. season — of the year
  4. charge — electricity
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. charge — a price
  10. capital — a city
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. capital — money
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. game — a match
  17. clip — a video
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. clip — to cut
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rush — hurry
  23. charge — in control
  24. bark — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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