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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: degree · row · net · charge · land · stick · season · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. charge — electricity
  3. land — to come down
  4. charge — in control
  5. season — of the year
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. degree — an amount
  8. season — in sport
  9. row — a line
  10. net — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. game — a match
  13. charge — a price
  14. land — ground
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. degree — from a university
  17. row — to paddle
  18. net — after costs
  19. degree — temperature
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. net — for catching
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. land — a country
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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