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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: chip · charge · cold · degree · deal · capital · last · firm

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. firm — steady
  3. charge — a price
  4. cold — not warm
  5. last — final
  6. firm — decided
  7. cold — an illness
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. degree — from a university
  11. last — to go on
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — to eat
  14. last — finally
  15. degree — an amount
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. degree — temperature
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. deal — to handle
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. firm — a company
  23. charge — in control
  24. capital — a big letter

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