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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: charge · dip · lie · capital · race · file · court · wake

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. court — for sport
  4. race — humankind
  5. charge — in control
  6. file — a line of people
  7. court — of a king
  8. lie — to recline
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. dip — to sink
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. file — a document
  17. race — a contest
  18. file — a tool
  19. charge — electricity
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. court — of law
  22. race — the arms race
  23. wake — a trail
  24. capital — a city

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