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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. charge — electricity
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. charge — in control
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. land — ground
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. charge — a price
  12. bound — certain
  13. game — a match
  14. bound — tied together
  15. land — a country
  16. bound — obliged
  17. degree — an amount
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. land — to come down
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. chair — a leader
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mine — for digging

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