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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 124 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: saw · jam · degree · capital · season · charge · track · fan

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. capital — a city
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. saw — the tool
  6. charge — a price
  7. season — in sport
  8. degree — temperature
  9. season — of the year
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. track — a path
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. track — a song
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. capital — money
  18. charge — electricity
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. degree — from a university
  21. track — to keep track
  22. charge — in control
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. degree — an amount

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