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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: spring · content · net · craft · charge · capital · shower · bear

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. craft — a skill
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — electricity
  6. spring — a coil
  7. shower — rain
  8. content — happy
  9. bear — the animal
  10. net — in sport
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. craft — boats
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. spring — the season
  18. shower — to wash
  19. spring — of water
  20. charge — in control
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. capital — money
  24. content — the amount

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