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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 124 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bass — the fish
  4. degree — from a university
  5. spring — of water
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mate — to breed
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. degree — an amount
  10. court — of a king
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. bass — low music
  13. charge — in control
  14. mate — a friend
  15. charge — electricity
  16. court — for sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. spring — a coil
  22. plane — a tool
  23. court — of law
  24. charge — a price

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