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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: drill · charge · degree · sharp · content · craft · mine · stand

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. charge — a price
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. degree — from a university
  5. drill — a practice
  6. sharp — clever
  7. craft — boats
  8. drill — the tool
  9. charge — electricity
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stand — to bear
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. drill — army training
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. craft — a skill
  18. charge — in control
  19. degree — an amount
  20. content — happy
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. degree — temperature
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. mine — for digging

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