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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. ball — a great time
  3. charge — electricity
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. ball — a dance
  12. present — the time now
  13. charge — in control
  14. spell — letters
  15. cap — a hat
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. present — a gift
  18. spell — a short time
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. spell — magic
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. charge — a price
  23. cap — of ice
  24. ball — a round shape

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