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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. charge — electricity
  3. wax — to grow
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cell — in biology
  7. pit — a hole
  8. field — farmland
  9. spell — a short time
  10. field — a subject
  11. spell — magic
  12. charge — in control
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pound — a weight
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pit — in a race
  20. spell — letters
  21. field — for sport
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. degree — an amount
  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