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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: chest · snap · cabinet · sharp · club · wound · capital · charge

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for golf
  4. charge — a price
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. capital — a city
  12. wound — an injury
  13. snap — to click
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. sharp — clever
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. charge — electricity
  21. club — for dancing
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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