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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: court · charge · press · wave · degree · march · cold · branch

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. march — the month
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cold — an illness
  7. court — of law
  8. degree — temperature
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — a division
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. charge — a price
  14. charge — in control
  15. march — music
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. press — newspapers
  18. court — for sport
  19. cold — not warm
  20. court — of a king
  21. press — to push
  22. march — the month
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wave — of the sea

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