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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: object · ball · cell · chip · perch · wound · charge · degree

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — an aim
  3. ball — a dance
  4. perch — the fish
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wound — an injury
  7. chip — for betting
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cell — in biology
  10. object — a thing
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. degree — temperature
  13. ball — a great time
  14. charge — in control
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cell — a phone
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. charge — electricity
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. charge — a price

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