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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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Word bank
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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. kick — in football
  5. key — for a lock
  6. drill — the tool
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. key — in music
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. drill — a practice
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. content — the amount
  14. land — a country
  15. fine — all right
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. content — happy
  18. charge — a price
  19. drill — army training
  20. fine — high quality
  21. charge — in control
  22. degree — from a university
  23. key — the most important part
  24. fine — a penalty

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