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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  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. bass — low music
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. track — a song
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. chip — to eat
  7. cap — a lid
  8. charge — in control
  9. track — a path
  10. track — to keep track
  11. chip — for betting
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. hand — in cards
  14. band — a music group
  15. cap — a hat
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. charge — a price
  19. band — a ring
  20. hand — help
  21. bass — the fish
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bass — the instrument
  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