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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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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. degree — from a university
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. rush — hurry
  7. season — of the year
  8. charge — a price
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. press — a publisher
  11. season — in sport
  12. spell — magic
  13. press — to push
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. degree — temperature
  16. charge — in control
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — a short time
  20. snap — to click
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. kick — in football
  23. press — newspapers
  24. degree — an amount

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