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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 116 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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  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. safe — a strongbox
  2. degree — from a university
  3. charge — a price
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. squash — the sport
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. game — wild animals
  15. squash — to crush
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. game — a match
  18. cold — not warm
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. snap — to click
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. charge — electricity
  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