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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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.

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. cold — an illness
  4. fine — all right
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wind — moving air
  8. key — for a lock
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. key — the most important part
  11. fine — high quality
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. cold — not warm
  17. charge — in control
  18. key — in music

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