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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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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: cap · charge · clip · plane · wake · spring · degree · rule

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cap — a hat
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. plane — a tool
  6. charge — a price
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cap — a lid
  9. clip — a video
  10. wake — a trail
  11. rule — government
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. clip — for paper
  17. charge — electricity
  18. spring — the season
  19. rule — a law
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. charge — in control
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. spring — of water
  24. plane — an aircraft

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