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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: band · lie · wind · charge · pit · sharp · cold · degree

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. band — a music group
  3. charge — a price
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a hole
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lie — to recline
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wind — moving air
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cold — an illness
  19. charge — in control
  20. cold — not warm
  21. band — a ring
  22. charge — electricity
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. degree — an amount

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