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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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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: capital · field · degree · snap · wave · cell · bowl · charge

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. field — for sport
  8. charge — in control
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. capital — a city
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. snap — to click
  17. field — a subject
  18. charge — electricity
  19. capital — money
  20. degree — an amount
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. charge — a price
  24. field — farmland

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