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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bank — for money
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. land — to come down
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. cell — a phone
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bank — for money
  11. row — a line
  12. charge — electricity
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cell — in biology
  15. charge — in control
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rash — a series
  20. bank — of a river
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. rash — hasty
  23. charge — a price
  24. land — a country

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