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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: bat · bark · degree · coach · mine · sharp · charge · rash

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bat — the animal
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. sharp — clever
  11. charge — a price
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — a series
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. charge — in control
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. charge — electricity

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