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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: degree · charge · fork · bound · wave · calf · cold · drill

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bound — certain
  4. drill — army training
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. charge — in control
  8. fork — in a road
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. drill — the tool
  14. charge — a price
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. degree — from a university
  19. charge — electricity
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bound — obliged
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. calf — a young animal

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