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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 116 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: march · stock · face · charge · current · kick · chair · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. stock — shares
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. stock — goods
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. current — of water
  8. current — electric
  9. charge — a price
  10. face — to confront
  11. chair — a leader
  12. degree — an amount
  13. charge — electricity
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. face — to point toward
  16. march — the month
  17. current — happening now
  18. kick — in football
  19. degree — temperature
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. march — the month
  22. face — part of the head
  23. charge — in control
  24. march — music

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