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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: stem · squash · capital · ball · clip · charge · chest · fan

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. clip — for paper
  6. squash — to crush
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. capital — a city
  9. clip — a video
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. chest — a box
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. clip — to cut
  14. charge — a price
  15. ball — a dance
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. charge — in control
  21. squash — the sport
  22. stem — to come from
  23. capital — money
  24. ball — a great time

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