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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  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. charge — electricity
  2. degree — an amount
  3. chest — a box
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. degree — temperature
  6. stand — to bear
  7. cell — a phone
  8. charge — a price
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. chest — of your body
  15. charge — in control
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. chest — of your body
  19. vault — a safe
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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