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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. charge — a price
  3. current — of water
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. current — electric
  6. pop — to visit
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. current — happening now
  11. pop — music
  12. degree — an amount
  13. charge — electricity
  14. pitch — completely
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mine — for digging
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. charge — in control
  21. pop — soda
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. degree — from a university

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