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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 120 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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bore — to drill
  5. charge — in control
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. stock — goods
  8. pit — in a race
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. race — humankind
  12. charge — a price
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. stock — shares
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pit — a hole
  19. wake — a trail
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. race — the arms race
  22. tear — to rip
  23. race — a contest
  24. bore — to tire

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