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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 120 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: sharp · ruler · field · spell · rule · charge · degree · mine

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. charge — a price
  5. spell — a short time
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. spell — magic
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. charge — electricity
  10. rule — government
  11. spell — letters
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. degree — from a university
  21. rule — a law
  22. charge — in control
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. field — a subject

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