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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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. charge — a price
  3. band — a ring
  4. court — of law
  5. last — final
  6. degree — an amount
  7. last — finally
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. charge — electricity
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. court — for sport
  15. charge — in control
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. band — a music group
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. court — of a king
  22. degree — temperature
  23. last — to go on
  24. bowl — to roll

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