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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. spring — the season
  3. degree — from a university
  4. charge — electricity
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. sharp — clever
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. charge — a price
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. degree — an amount
  16. spring — a coil
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spring — of water
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. kid — child
  22. foot — a measure
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. charge — in control

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