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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: degree · rash · wound · charge · snap · chair · race · pitch

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pitch — completely
  3. race — the arms race
  4. degree — an amount
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. race — a contest
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. charge — a price
  9. rash — a series
  10. wound — an injury
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. race — humankind
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rash — hasty
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. snap — to click
  20. charge — electricity
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. charge — in control

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