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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: capital · chair · wound · net · spell · plane · dip · charge

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. chair — a leader
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. charge — in control
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. spell — letters
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. spell — a short time
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wound — an injury
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. net — for catching
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — magic
  16. dip — to sink
  17. plane — a tool
  18. charge — a price
  19. capital — a city
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. charge — electricity

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