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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 116 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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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 · cell · charge · ground · capital · last · clip · fork

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cell — in biology
  4. charge — electricity
  5. degree — an amount
  6. ground — crushed
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. degree — temperature
  10. ground — a position
  11. clip — to cut
  12. capital — money
  13. last — finally
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. capital — a city
  16. fork — in a road
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. charge — in control
  19. charge — a price
  20. last — final
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. last — to go on
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in a prison

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