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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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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: charge · degree · mark · row · land · bat

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. charge — in control
  3. charge — a price
  4. land — ground
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bat — the animal
  7. land — to come down
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. degree — temperature
  11. land — a country
  12. degree — from a university
  13. row — a line
  14. mark — a trace
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. charge — electricity
  18. mark — a grade

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