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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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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: bound · chair · charge · press · march · mouse · capital · drill

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. drill — army training
  3. bound — tied together
  4. charge — a price
  5. press — a publisher
  6. charge — electricity
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a leader
  11. march — the month
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. press — newspapers
  14. march — music
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. charge — in control
  18. drill — the tool
  19. press — to push
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — certain
  23. march — the month
  24. capital — a big letter

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