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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: charge · mine · tube · degree · club · ruler · capital · sharp

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. sharp — clever
  4. charge — a price
  5. club — for dancing
  6. degree — temperature
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. degree — an amount
  11. charge — in control
  12. tube — a container
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. tube — the underground
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. club — for golf
  19. charge — electricity
  20. mine — for digging
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. degree — from a university
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. club — a group

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