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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. mine — for digging
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cue — a hint
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. chest — of your body
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chest — a box
  14. charge — in control
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. spring — of water
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a signal
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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