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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. race — humankind
  7. charge — in control
  8. march — music
  9. race — a contest
  10. lean — thin
  11. object — to protest
  12. charge — a price
  13. pop — soda
  14. object — an aim
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. march — the month
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. lean — to bend
  19. march — the month
  20. mine — for digging
  21. object — a thing
  22. charge — electricity
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wind — moving air

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