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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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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. band — a ring
  3. degree — an amount
  4. chip — to eat
  5. degree — from a university
  6. spring — the season
  7. degree — temperature
  8. fine — all right
  9. chip — for betting
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. spring — of water
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. charge — a price
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cold — an illness
  22. band — a music group
  23. charge — electricity
  24. spring — a coil

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