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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · land · stem · press · cold · capital · swing · firm

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. capital — money
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — to come from
  7. firm — decided
  8. swing — to play on
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. capital — a city
  11. press — to push
  12. firm — a company
  13. land — ground
  14. charge — a price
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. firm — steady
  17. charge — in control
  18. cold — an illness
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. cold — not warm
  24. press — a publisher

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