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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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Word bank
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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. craft — boats
  3. key — the most important part
  4. craft — a skill
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. charge — a price
  7. degree — an amount
  8. charge — in control
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. spring — a coil
  11. key — for a lock
  12. degree — temperature
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. fall — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fall — to drop
  19. plane — a tool
  20. degree — from a university
  21. key — in music
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cell — in biology

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