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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 116 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: chair · content · capital · degree · charge · board · drill · bank

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. content — happy
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. board — a committee
  6. charge — in control
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bank — for money
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. drill — a practice
  11. chair — a leader
  12. capital — a city
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. degree — temperature
  15. board — to get on
  16. content — the amount
  17. degree — an amount
  18. drill — army training
  19. bank — for money
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. charge — a price
  24. bank — of a river

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