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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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468
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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. mate — a partner
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. degree — temperature
  6. swing — music
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. race — humankind
  10. swing — in golf
  11. court — of law
  12. charge — in control
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. swing — to play on
  15. rush — hurry
  16. degree — from a university
  17. court — for sport
  18. mate — to breed
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. court — of a king
  21. mate — a friend
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. charge — a price

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