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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. stem — to come from
  3. last — finally
  4. charge — electricity
  5. wind — moving air
  6. charge — a price
  7. rash — a series
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. key — in music
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. key — for a lock
  13. kid — child
  14. key — the most important part
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. prune — to trim
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rash — hasty
  19. last — final
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. charge — in control
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — to go on

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