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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 124 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: perch · degree · patient · charge · swing · race

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. degree — from a university
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. swing — to play on
  5. race — the arms race
  6. perch — the fish
  7. charge — in control
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. race — humankind
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. charge — a price
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. race — a contest

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