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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: perch · leaves · capital · sharp · charge · cold · root · content

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. charge — electricity
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. root — of a word
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. root — of a plant
  9. charge — in control
  10. charge — a price
  11. capital — a city
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — happy
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. capital — money
  19. content — the amount
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cold — not warm
  23. root — the cause
  24. cold — an illness

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