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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: date · mark · file · swing · capital · trunk · charge · stock

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — in golf
  3. charge — a price
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — in control
  6. file — a tool
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. capital — money
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. capital — a city
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — goods
  14. file — a line of people
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. date — the fruit
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. file — a document
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — a trace
  24. swing — music

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