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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chair · chest · charge · field · land · capital · bass · wake

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. field — for sport
  3. charge — in control
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — a trail
  7. land — ground
  8. field — farmland
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — electricity
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. land — a country
  13. chair — a leader
  14. land — to come down
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. capital — money
  17. bass — the fish
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chest — a box
  20. field — a subject
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bass — low music
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. capital — a big letter

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