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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: pit · stick · capital · row · game · charge · fall · date

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. game — wild animals
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. fall — to drop
  6. charge — electricity
  7. capital — money
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. capital — a city
  13. fall — the season
  14. charge — in control
  15. game — a match
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. date — the fruit
  20. fall — to drop
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a hole
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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