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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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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: hide · charge · degree · chair · wave · bowl · wound · stick

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. charge — electricity
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. chair — a leader
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. charge — a price
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wound — an injury
  14. charge — in control
  15. wound — an injury
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. hide — animal skin

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