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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. degree — from a university
  3. shower — rain
  4. rash — hasty
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. charge — electricity
  9. charge — a price
  10. shower — to wash
  11. fine — high quality
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. chip — for betting
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. rash — a series
  19. degree — temperature
  20. charge — in control
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chip — to eat
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. bound — obliged

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