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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: chest · capital · charge · club · land · ground · present · mouse

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. capital — a city
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. chest — of your body
  5. club — for dancing
  6. charge — a price
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. club — a group
  9. land — ground
  10. charge — electricity
  11. present — the time now
  12. ground — a position
  13. present — there
  14. ground — the earth
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. club — for golf
  17. land — to come down
  18. charge — in control
  19. ground — crushed
  20. capital — money
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. present — a gift
  23. land — a country
  24. chest — a box

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