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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.

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: spell · foot · tube · cold · sharp · bear · charge · capital

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. capital — money
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — the underground
  9. charge — a price
  10. capital — a city
  11. foot — a measure
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bear — the animal
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. charge — in control
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. charge — electricity
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  24. bear — the animal

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