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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
468
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: rule · charge · patient · content · scale · racket · capital · spring

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. capital — a city
  12. rule — a law
  13. charge — a price
  14. content — the amount
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. spring — of water
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. rule — government
  19. charge — electricity
  20. scale — in music
  21. charge — in control
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. capital — money
  24. scale — size or range

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