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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. charge — electricity
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. charge — in control
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. charge — a price
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. degree — an amount
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. perch — the fish
  16. shower — rain
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. shower — to wash
  22. dip — to sink
  23. drill — the tool
  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