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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · bark · snap · degree · charge · cell

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. club — for golf
  4. charge — a price
  5. club — for dancing
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cell — in biology
  8. charge — electricity
  9. degree — an amount
  10. club — a group
  11. degree — temperature
  12. snap — to click
  13. charge — in control
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. cell — a phone
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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