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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: wound · toast · cell · degree · charge · race · spell · bay

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. wound — an injury
  5. charge — in control
  6. race — the arms race
  7. toast — bread
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. spell — magic
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. race — a contest
  12. spell — a short time
  13. race — humankind
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cell — in biology
  18. charge — electricity
  19. charge — a price
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. spell — letters

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