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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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468
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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — in control
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. file — a tool
  7. face — to confront
  8. rest — what's left
  9. degree — an amount
  10. charge — a price
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. file — a line of people
  13. degree — temperature
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. face — to point toward
  17. rest — what's left
  18. degree — from a university
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. face — part of the head
  21. rest — a break
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. file — a document
  24. leaves — to go away

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