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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — a price
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. face — to confront
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. charge — in control
  7. cold — not warm
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. mark — a trace
  11. row — a line
  12. degree — from a university
  13. mark — a grade
  14. face — part of the head
  15. fall — to drop
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. cold — an illness
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. face — to point toward
  24. degree — an amount

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