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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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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. charge — in control
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bound — obliged
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rest — a break
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rest — what's left
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. degree — temperature
  16. date — the fruit
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bound — certain
  20. charge — a price
  21. wake — a trail
  22. rest — what's left
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bound — tied together

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