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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.

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: squash · file · capital · band · march · charge · face · chair

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a line of people
  4. charge — electricity
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. face — to confront
  7. squash — the sport
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. march — the month
  10. capital — a city
  11. band — a ring
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. charge — in control
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. charge — a price
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. file — a tool
  18. march — the month
  19. squash — to crush
  20. capital — money
  21. band — a music group
  22. chair — a leader
  23. march — music
  24. face — part of the head

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