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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: cold · perch · rest · deal · charge · trunk · pound · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. charge — a price
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. degree — an amount
  6. perch — the fish
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. rest — what's left
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. deal — to handle
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rest — what's left
  13. degree — from a university
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. charge — in control
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. rest — a break
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. charge — electricity
  24. pound — for dogs

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