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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 116 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. spring — the season
  3. wake — a trail
  4. charge — electricity
  5. wind — moving air
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. wound — an injury
  8. charge — in control
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. club — for golf
  11. spring — of water
  12. plane — a tool
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. file — a line of people
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. file — a tool
  17. club — for dancing
  18. charge — a price
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. spring — a coil
  22. club — a group
  23. file — a document
  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