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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. charge — a price
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. degree — from a university
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. root — of a word
  7. root — of a plant
  8. bass — the fish
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — magic
  11. degree — an amount
  12. root — the cause
  13. charge — electricity
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. degree — temperature
  17. kid — child
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — a division
  23. bass — low music
  24. spell — letters

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