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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. spring — the season
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. cap — of ice
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. object — to protest
  12. pass — a permit
  13. file — a line of people
  14. spring — of water
  15. stock — goods
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cap — a lid
  18. charge — a price
  19. file — a document
  20. charge — in control
  21. cap — a hat
  22. object — a thing
  23. object — an aim
  24. file — a tool

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