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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. pop — to visit
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mate — a friend
  5. rush — hurry
  6. file — a line of people
  7. degree — temperature
  8. squash — the sport
  9. mate — to breed
  10. charge — a price
  11. pop — soda
  12. file — a document
  13. pop — music
  14. file — a tool
  15. charge — in control
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. degree — an amount
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. mate — a partner
  23. degree — from a university
  24. coach — a trainer

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