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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.

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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — in control
  6. wind — moving air
  7. prune — to trim
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. prune — to trim
  11. charge — electricity
  12. kid — child
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wind — moving air
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. scale — size or range

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