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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. roll — a cake
  3. degree — from a university
  4. season — of the year
  5. roll — a list
  6. season — in sport
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. rush — hurry
  12. charge — in control
  13. degree — an amount
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. wax — to grow
  17. charge — a price
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — a trace
  22. chest — a box
  23. degree — temperature
  24. roll — on a roll

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