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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: charge · rule · leaves · snap · sharp · hand · degree · bore

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bore — to tire
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. charge — a price
  7. bore — to drill
  8. charge — electricity
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. hand — help
  11. rule — government
  12. charge — in control
  13. rule — a law
  14. degree — from a university
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. snap — to click
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. sharp — clever
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. degree — temperature
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — in cards

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