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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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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: cell · fork · bay · rest · capital · charge · lie · march

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. rest — a break
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. charge — electricity
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. charge — a price
  12. capital — a city
  13. march — the month
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rest — what's left
  18. fork — in a road
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. cell — in biology
  22. lie — to recline
  23. charge — in control
  24. lie — an untruth

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