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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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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 · cap · cell · bank · degree · perch

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. charge — electricity
  3. degree — an amount
  4. perch — the fish
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cap — a hat
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cap — a lid
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — for money
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. degree — temperature
  16. charge — a price
  17. bank — of a river
  18. charge — in control

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