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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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Word bank
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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: rule · degree · charge · net · fall · kick

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. kick — in football
  3. fall — to drop
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. degree — from a university
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. net — after costs
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. charge — in control
  13. degree — temperature
  14. charge — a price
  15. net — in sport
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — government
  18. net — for catching

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