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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.

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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 · fall · tube · cold · content · vault · capital · board

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. charge — a price
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. board — to get on
  6. tube — a container
  7. vault — a safe
  8. charge — electricity
  9. capital — a city
  10. tube — the underground
  11. capital — money
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. charge — in control
  19. board — a committee
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. fall — the season

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