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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: press · charge · capital · bound · pop · drill · tube · cap

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. charge — electricity
  3. bound — certain
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. charge — in control
  6. tube — the underground
  7. cap — a lid
  8. charge — a price
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. pop — music
  12. press — to push
  13. bound — tied together
  14. capital — a city
  15. cap — a hat
  16. drill — army training
  17. press — newspapers
  18. drill — a practice
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bound — obliged
  23. press — a publisher
  24. drill — the tool

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