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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.

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: degree · stand · content · root · charge · fine · cold · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. stand — to bear
  3. charge — in control
  4. mine — for digging
  5. charge — a price
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. degree — an amount
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. charge — electricity
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — high quality
  13. content — the amount
  14. cold — an illness
  15. root — of a word
  16. cold — not warm
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. degree — from a university
  20. content — happy
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. degree — temperature
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — the cause

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