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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. spring — a coil
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — a country
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pop — music
  9. wind — moving air
  10. charge — electricity
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. current — of water
  15. pop — soda
  16. spring — of water
  17. charge — in control
  18. current — electric
  19. current — happening now
  20. land — ground
  21. charge — a price
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pop — to visit
  24. spring — the season

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