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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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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rule — a law
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — a price
  6. ground — a position
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. prune — to trim
  11. track — a song
  12. ground — the earth
  13. track — a path
  14. rule — government
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pound — a weight
  17. squash — the sport
  18. prune — to trim
  19. charge — in control
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. squash — to crush
  23. degree — temperature
  24. track — to keep track

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