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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.

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: charge · pound · mug · cold · capital · bowl · last · hand

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. capital — money
  3. mug — a cup
  4. hand — help
  5. pound — a weight
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. charge — in control
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. charge — electricity
  12. mug — to rob
  13. cold — not warm
  14. last — finally
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. charge — a price
  18. capital — a city
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. last — final
  23. cold — an illness
  24. last — to go on

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