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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.

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: land · cold · charge · degree · toast · pop · march · object

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. object — a thing
  3. charge — a price
  4. pop — to visit
  5. charge — electricity
  6. degree — an amount
  7. charge — in control
  8. land — to come down
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. march — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. land — ground
  13. object — to protest
  14. cold — an illness
  15. toast — bread
  16. march — the month
  17. object — an aim
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. degree — from a university
  20. land — a country
  21. pop — music
  22. march — the month
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cold — not warm

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