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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: root · bat · degree · wake · cap · charge · bulb · temple

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — a price
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. root — the cause
  6. degree — from a university
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bat — the animal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. root — of a plant
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. root — of a word
  19. charge — in control
  20. cap — a hat
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wake — a trail
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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