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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 120 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: content · bat · fork · degree · pitch · charge · ground · rule

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. charge — a price
  3. pitch — completely
  4. ground — a position
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. content — happy
  9. charge — electricity
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. content — the amount
  13. rule — a law
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bat — the animal
  16. degree — an amount
  17. ground — crushed
  18. charge — in control
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. fork — in a road
  21. rule — government
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. degree — from a university
  24. pitch — a sports field

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