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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. degree — an amount
  3. charge — in control
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bank — of a river
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. game — a match
  8. charge — a price
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rest — what's left
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. rest — what's left
  13. fork — in a road
  14. rest — a break
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. capital — money
  17. cell — a phone
  18. charge — electricity
  19. game — wild animals
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bank — for money
  22. capital — a city
  23. bank — for money
  24. degree — temperature

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