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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
468
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: snap · degree · mug · patient · land · cap · row · charge

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. snap — to click
  3. cap — a lid
  4. mug — a cup
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. charge — electricity
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. degree — from a university
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. land — to come down
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cap — a hat
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. row — a line
  18. land — ground
  19. mug — a face
  20. land — a country
  21. mug — to rob
  22. charge — in control
  23. cap — of ice
  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