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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. march — the month
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. march — music
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bore — to drill
  11. charge — in control
  12. object — to protest
  13. march — the month
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. object — an aim
  16. bore — to tire
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. charge — a price
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. object — a thing
  24. pitch — completely

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