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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 116 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: game · clip · charge · lean · stock · capital · rest · trunk

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  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. game — wild animals
  2. clip — for paper
  3. capital — a city
  4. charge — a price
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — in control
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. game — a match
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. lean — thin
  12. stock — goods
  13. rest — what's left
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. clip — a video
  16. stock — shares
  17. rest — a break
  18. clip — to cut
  19. lean — to bend
  20. rest — what's left
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. capital — money
  23. stock — a soup base
  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