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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. charge — electricity
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. chip — for betting
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. march — the month
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. row — a line
  9. degree — from a university
  10. march — the month
  11. charge — a price
  12. chip — to eat
  13. march — music
  14. degree — temperature
  15. charge — in control
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. row — to paddle
  24. safe — out of danger

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