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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. fall — to drop
  3. charge — electricity
  4. pop — soda
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. spring — the season
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. spring — of water
  9. pop — to visit
  10. last — finally
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. last — final
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. shower — rain
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pop — music
  17. last — to go on
  18. fall — the season
  19. kick — in football
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. charge — in control
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. fall — to drop
  24. shower — to wash

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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