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

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. prune — to trim
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. charge — in control
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bass — the fish
  7. wind — moving air
  8. charge — electricity
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. charge — a price
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bass — low music
  15. wind — moving air
  16. degree — an amount
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. content — the amount
  19. snap — to click
  20. content — happy
  21. degree — temperature
  22. prune — to trim
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. hide — to keep secret

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