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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. charge — a price
  6. charge — in control
  7. wind — moving air
  8. row — a line
  9. last — to go on
  10. charge — electricity
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. row — to paddle
  13. last — finally
  14. last — final
  15. prune — to trim
  16. scale — in music
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. scale — size or range
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. wind — moving air
  24. prune — to trim

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