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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mate — to breed
  3. charge — in control
  4. chest — a box
  5. mate — a partner
  6. swing — music
  7. current — happening now
  8. charge — electricity
  9. charge — a price
  10. spring — of water
  11. perch — the fish
  12. current — electric
  13. chest — of your body
  14. degree — from a university
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. spring — the season
  17. swing — in golf
  18. mate — a friend
  19. degree — temperature
  20. current — of water
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spring — a coil
  24. swing — to play on

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