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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: capital · trunk · cue · charge · bay · row · ground · mine

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. charge — electricity
  8. cue — a signal
  9. capital — a city
  10. mine — for digging
  11. charge — in control
  12. ground — crushed
  13. capital — money
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. row — a line
  17. ground — a position
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cue — a hint
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. ground — the earth
  24. cue — for pool

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