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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 124 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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. charge — a price
  3. charge — electricity
  4. rest — a break
  5. fall — to drop
  6. roll — a list
  7. degree — from a university
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wound — an injury
  11. charge — in control
  12. roll — a cake
  13. rest — what's left
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. track — a song
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wound — an injury
  20. track — a path
  21. fall — to drop
  22. degree — temperature
  23. track — to keep track
  24. rest — what's left

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