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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. degree — an amount
  4. branch — a division
  5. charge — a price
  6. mine — for digging
  7. capital — money
  8. degree — from a university
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. snap — to click
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. charge — in control
  15. content — happy
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. stand — to bear
  19. charge — electricity
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. capital — a city
  22. degree — temperature
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — videos and posts

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