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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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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: spring · court · charge · present · content · rock · degree · wake

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. degree — an amount
  3. present — a gift
  4. degree — temperature
  5. court — of law
  6. spring — of water
  7. charge — in control
  8. present — there
  9. charge — a price
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. degree — from a university
  12. content — the amount
  13. court — of a king
  14. spring — a coil
  15. content — happy
  16. court — for sport
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rock — a stone
  19. present — the time now
  20. rock — music
  21. charge — electricity
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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