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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: rule · file · charge · suit · cold · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. charge — a price
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cold — not warm
  6. suit — to fit
  7. file — a tool
  8. rule — government
  9. charge — electricity
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. suit — in cards
  12. file — a document
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. file — a line of people
  15. suit — clothes
  16. charge — in control
  17. rule — a law
  18. cold — an illness

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