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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: charge · fine · bound · capital · object · chair · content · row

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. content — happy
  4. object — an aim
  5. fine — high quality
  6. charge — electricity
  7. bound — obliged
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. row — to paddle
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bound — tied together
  12. charge — in control
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. row — a line
  16. capital — a city
  17. bound — certain
  18. chair — a leader
  19. object — a thing
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. charge — a price
  23. fine — all right
  24. capital — money

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