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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mark — a trace
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. staff — a stick
  13. row — a line
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. staff — employees
  16. charge — a price
  17. mark — a grade
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bass — the fish
  20. charge — in control
  21. bass — low music
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. staff — employees

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