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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
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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: bore · charge · mine · bat · march · degree · wind · wake

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — in control
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. degree — from a university
  5. march — music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to drill
  11. march — the month
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. degree — an amount
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. march — the month
  19. wake — a trail
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. charge — a price
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. degree — temperature

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