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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 124 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. mark — a grade
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pop — music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. charge — electricity
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. cap — a lid
  10. pop — to visit
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pop — soda
  15. cap — a hat
  16. present — the time now
  17. charge — a price
  18. wind — moving air
  19. present — a gift
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. mark — a trace
  22. game — a match
  23. wound — an injury
  24. charge — in control

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