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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.

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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: bank · key · kid · pass · content · degree · charge · wind

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. charge — electricity
  3. kid — child
  4. key — in music
  5. charge — in control
  6. pass — a permit
  7. degree — temperature
  8. kid — to tease
  9. content — happy
  10. bank — for money
  11. key — the most important part
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. wind — moving air
  15. charge — a price
  16. bank — of a river
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. content — the amount
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bank — for money
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. wind — moving air
  23. key — for a lock
  24. degree — an 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