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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: craft · mine · charge · wind · press · shower · season · capital

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. charge — a price
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — newspapers
  5. charge — in control
  6. craft — a skill
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. capital — a city
  13. charge — electricity
  14. capital — money
  15. season — of the year
  16. shower — rain
  17. mine — for digging
  18. press — to push
  19. shower — to wash
  20. craft — boats
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. capital — a big letter
  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