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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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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: fall · cold · racket · lash · snap · coach · degree · charge

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fall — to drop
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. charge — a price
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fall — the season
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. charge — in control
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. degree — an amount
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. fall — to drop
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. cold — an illness
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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