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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. key — the most important part
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kid — child
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. root — of a word
  7. charge — in control
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. root — of a plant
  10. charge — a price
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. key — in music
  17. key — for a lock
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bound — tied together
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wind — moving air
  23. root — the cause
  24. wake — a trail

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