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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.

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: club · fall · charge · cap · rash · march · suit · clip

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. cap — a hat
  3. march — the month
  4. club — for dancing
  5. suit — in cards
  6. suit — to fit
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. suit — clothes
  9. cap — of ice
  10. fall — the season
  11. club — for golf
  12. rash — a series
  13. charge — electricity
  14. fall — to drop
  15. charge — in control
  16. club — a group
  17. march — the month
  18. cap — a lid
  19. clip — to cut
  20. march — music
  21. rash — hasty
  22. clip — a video
  23. fall — to drop
  24. clip — for paper

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