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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: rock · race · charge · clip · pit · capital · bore · spell

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. race — a contest
  3. spell — magic
  4. pit — in a race
  5. race — the arms race
  6. clip — for paper
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. charge — in control
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to drill
  11. rock — music
  12. clip — a video
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. bore — to tire
  15. capital — money
  16. charge — a price
  17. rock — a stone
  18. pit — a hole
  19. capital — a city
  20. charge — electricity
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — a short time
  23. race — humankind
  24. clip — to cut

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