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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. spring — a coil
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. spring — the season
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. charge — in control
  11. cap — a hat
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. field — a subject
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. field — farmland
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. field — for sport
  20. cap — a lid
  21. charge — electricity
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. spring — of water
  24. cap — of ice

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