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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.

Make a worksheet

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: mine · content · degree · spring · charge · racket · lash · court

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mine — for digging
  3. charge — electricity
  4. charge — a price
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. spring — of water
  11. degree — an amount
  12. content — happy
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. court — of law
  15. charge — in control
  16. spring — a coil
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. degree — temperature
  22. spring — the season
  23. degree — from a university
  24. content — the amount

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