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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 120 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
468
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: season · fan · sharp · rock · chip · cell · fall · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cell — a phone
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — of the year
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rock — a stone
  7. fall — the season
  8. sharp — clever
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. chip — for betting
  12. cell — in biology
  13. rock — music
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. capital — money
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fall — to drop
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. season — in sport

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