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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: charge · capital · content · straw · bat · craft · chair · sharp

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. content — happy
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. charge — electricity
  9. craft — boats
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. charge — in control
  12. content — the amount
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. chair — a leader
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. craft — a skill
  19. charge — a price
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bat — the animal

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