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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: plane · chip · safe · clip · capital · charge · degree · chest

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. chip — to eat
  4. degree — temperature
  5. charge — a price
  6. clip — for paper
  7. capital — money
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. chest — of your body
  10. clip — a video
  11. chest — of your body
  12. degree — from a university
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. degree — an amount
  15. capital — a city
  16. chest — a box
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. charge — in control
  19. chip — for betting
  20. plane — a tool
  21. clip — to cut
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. plane — an aircraft

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