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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: degree · mine · pitcher · hide · charge · snap · bark · capital

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. charge — a price
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. charge — in control
  8. bark — to shout
  9. snap — to click
  10. mine — for digging
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. capital — a city
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. charge — electricity
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. capital — money
  24. mine — belonging to me

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