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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. charge — electricity
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. charge — a price
  7. firm — a company
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. degree — from a university
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mine — for digging
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — to shout
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. sharp — clever
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — steady
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bark — of a tree

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