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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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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: wound · saw · stick · present · charge · capital · racket · object

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. capital — money
  3. object — to protest
  4. capital — a city
  5. wound — an injury
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wound — an injury
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. charge — a price
  13. object — an aim
  14. present — there
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. object — a thing
  17. saw — the tool
  18. charge — electricity
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. charge — in control
  22. present — the time now
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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