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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. tube — the underground
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. degree — an amount
  7. field — for sport
  8. tube — a container
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. degree — from a university
  12. field — a subject
  13. degree — temperature
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. charge — a price
  16. cell — in biology
  17. charge — in control
  18. field — farmland

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