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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: chair · charge · racket · capital · hand · sharp · can · arm

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. capital — a city
  3. chair — a leader
  4. charge — in control
  5. can — to be able to
  6. charge — electricity
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. sharp — clever
  10. can — a tin
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. capital — money
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. charge — a price
  22. can — a tin
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. chair — to sit on

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