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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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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: pitcher · degree · rest · fall · tear · charge · cell · sharp

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rest — a break
  3. fall — the season
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rest — what's left
  9. cell — in biology
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. charge — electricity
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. charge — in control
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cell — a phone
  18. charge — a price
  19. tear — from crying
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. tear — to rip
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. fall — to drop

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