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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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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 · wind · hide · straw · object · capital · drill · tear

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. charge — electricity
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. capital — a city
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tear — from crying
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. drill — the tool
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wind — moving air
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. charge — a price
  14. object — to protest
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. object — a thing
  17. capital — money
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. object — an aim
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. drill — army training
  22. charge — in control
  23. tear — from crying
  24. straw — dry grass

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