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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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: perch · chair · charge · land · wake · degree · rash · drill

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. perch — the fish
  3. land — a country
  4. wake — a trail
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. rash — hasty
  8. land — to come down
  9. charge — in control
  10. degree — from a university
  11. charge — a price
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — a practice
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. land — ground
  16. drill — the tool
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rash — a series
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. degree — temperature

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