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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. pop — soda
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. pop — music
  13. field — farmland
  14. pop — to visit
  15. ground — a position
  16. charge — in control
  17. field — a subject
  18. wake — a trail
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. charge — electricity
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. field — for sport
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. ground — the earth

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