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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. degree — from a university
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. degree — temperature
  6. fork — in a road
  7. degree — an amount
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. charge — in control
  12. mine — for digging
  13. cue — a signal
  14. charge — electricity
  15. march — the month
  16. cold — an illness
  17. march — the month
  18. cue — for pool
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cold — not warm
  22. march — music
  23. charge — a price
  24. cold — the Cold War

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