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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: race · ball · capital · ground · cell · board · roll · charge

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. charge — electricity
  3. race — humankind
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. charge — in control
  6. capital — a city
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. cell — in biology
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. race — a contest
  11. ground — a position
  12. roll — a list
  13. capital — money
  14. roll — a cake
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. race — the arms race
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ground — crushed
  19. board — a committee
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. charge — a price
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ball — a great time
  24. cell — a phone

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