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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. track — a song
  4. degree — an amount
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. snap — to click
  7. degree — temperature
  8. lean — thin
  9. charge — a price
  10. track — a path
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. charge — electricity
  14. drill — a practice
  15. rash — hasty
  16. mine — for digging
  17. drill — the tool
  18. degree — from a university
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — a series
  22. track — to keep track
  23. drill — army training
  24. lean — to bend

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