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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
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: charge · capital · cold · arm · fan · row · nail · chair

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. charge — in control
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. capital — a city
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. charge — electricity
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. cold — not warm
  20. row — to paddle
  21. charge — a price
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. chair — a leader
  24. capital — money

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