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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bank — of a river
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bank — for money
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. charge — a price
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. last — to go on
  11. charge — in control
  12. bank — for money
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. last — finally
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. saw — the tool
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. last — final
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bat — the animal
  24. charge — electricity

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