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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. foot — a measure
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. degree — from a university
  7. charge — electricity
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. content — happy
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. charge — a price
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pitch — completely
  20. content — the amount
  21. degree — an amount
  22. mine — for digging
  23. stem — to come from
  24. content — videos and posts

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