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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. charge — a price
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. degree — temperature
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. field — a subject
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wake — a trail
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. chair — a leader
  18. field — farmland
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. field — for sport
  21. charge — electricity
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. degree — an amount
  24. charge — in control

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