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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 120 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: cold · charge · wound · capital · bass · bulb · pop · mark

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — in control
  4. capital — money
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pop — to visit
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bass — low music
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. charge — a price
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. mark — a trace
  18. pop — music
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. capital — a city
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bulb — for light

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