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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 120 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: game · charge · wind · capital · saw · cold · club · bay

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. charge — electricity
  5. club — a group
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. cold — an illness
  10. charge — a price
  11. capital — money
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. wind — moving air
  14. saw — the tool
  15. game — a match
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. saw — the tool
  19. club — for dancing
  20. capital — a city
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. club — for golf
  23. game — wild animals
  24. charge — in control

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