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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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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: bat · cap · pit · bowl · capital · fork · charge · file

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pit — in a race
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. charge — in control
  9. cap — a lid
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pit — a hole
  14. charge — a price
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. fork — in a road
  20. charge — electricity
  21. file — a tool
  22. cap — of ice
  23. file — a document
  24. bowl — to roll

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