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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. fine — high quality
  2. charge — electricity
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bound — certain
  7. charge — a price
  8. bound — obliged
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. spell — magic
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. chair — a leader
  16. game — a match
  17. charge — in control
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. fine — all right
  20. bound — tied together
  21. spell — a short time
  22. game — wild animals
  23. spell — letters
  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