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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 116 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: charge · file · mine · capital · deal · chip · lie · pitch

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. charge — electricity
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. charge — in control
  6. charge — a price
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. deal — to handle
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. file — a document
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pitch — completely
  14. chip — to eat
  15. file — a tool
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. chip — for betting
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — to recline
  23. capital — money
  24. file — a line of people

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