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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bound — tied together
  3. charge — electricity
  4. shower — rain
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. bound — certain
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. ground — crushed
  9. tube — a container
  10. ground — the earth
  11. charge — in control
  12. ground — a position
  13. bound — obliged
  14. charge — a price
  15. tube — the underground
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — from a university
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. fine — all right
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. shower — to wash
  24. fine — high quality

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