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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. deal — to handle
  10. degree — an amount
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. charge — electricity
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wind — moving air
  17. toast — bread
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. charge — in control
  20. charge — a price
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — hasty

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