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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. club — a group
  3. season — in sport
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. charge — in control
  7. charge — a price
  8. charge — electricity
  9. club — for dancing
  10. stock — goods
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. degree — from a university
  15. sharp — clever
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. season — of the year
  20. stock — shares
  21. club — for golf
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. degree — temperature

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