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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: mark · wind · charge · degree · content · rash · fine · bear

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fine — all right
  5. rash — a series
  6. degree — from a university
  7. charge — a price
  8. fine — high quality
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. charge — electricity
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. degree — temperature
  19. content — happy
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. wind — moving air
  22. content — the amount
  23. mark — a grade
  24. charge — in control

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