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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. track — a path
  3. tear — to rip
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. charge — in control
  6. rash — hasty
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. degree — from a university
  11. tear — from crying
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. charge — a price
  14. tear — from crying
  15. deal — to handle
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a song
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. degree — temperature

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