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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. charge — electricity
  3. field — a subject
  4. hand — in cards
  5. craft — a skill
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. degree — from a university
  8. charge — in control
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. fall — to drop
  11. degree — temperature
  12. field — farmland
  13. hand — help
  14. degree — an amount
  15. mug — a cup
  16. craft — boats
  17. chip — to eat
  18. mug — to rob
  19. field — for sport
  20. mug — a face
  21. fall — the season
  22. chip — for betting
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. fall — to drop

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