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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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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: board · capital · foot · tear · charge · fork · snap · season

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. board — to get on
  5. tear — from crying
  6. charge — a price
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. fork — in a road
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. season — of the year
  12. tear — from crying
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. foot — a measure
  17. tear — to rip
  18. capital — money
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. board — a committee
  21. snap — to click
  22. charge — in control
  23. season — in sport
  24. charge — electricity

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