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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: game · charge · branch · face · fork · season · bound · capital

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. capital — a city
  3. game — wild animals
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — money
  7. branch — a division
  8. bound — certain
  9. charge — a price
  10. fork — in a road
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. face — part of the head
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. charge — in control
  19. bound — obliged
  20. face — to confront
  21. bound — tied together
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. face — to point toward
  24. game — a match

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