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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — in control
  3. degree — an amount
  4. row — to paddle
  5. current — electric
  6. rush — hurry
  7. degree — from a university
  8. last — to go on
  9. current — happening now
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — a line
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. last — finally
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. current — of water
  17. clip — for paper
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. charge — a price
  23. last — final
  24. rush — a thrill

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