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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. court — for sport
  4. charge — a price
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. chip — for betting
  7. court — of a king
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. chip — to eat
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. degree — temperature
  13. charge — electricity
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cell — a phone
  17. court — of law
  18. cell — in biology
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. charge — in control
  22. bark — to shout
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. pass — a permit

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