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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: chair · charge · hide · root · capital · snap · stick · drill

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. drill — the tool
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. chair — a leader
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. root — of a word
  10. drill — army training
  11. charge — a price
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. root — of a plant
  15. charge — electricity
  16. snap — to click
  17. charge — in control
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. drill — a practice
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. root — the cause
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. capital — money

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