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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.

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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. charge — electricity
  3. track — to keep track
  4. tear — to rip
  5. charge — a price
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. charge — in control
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stem — to come from
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. shower — to wash
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. shower — rain
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. track — a path
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mine — an explosive

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