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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. charge — electricity
  3. fall — the season
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. track — a song
  6. fall — to drop
  7. swing — to play on
  8. track — to keep track
  9. wake — a trail
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. clip — to cut
  15. charge — a price
  16. track — a path
  17. charge — in control
  18. deal — to handle
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. clip — a video
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. fall — to drop
  24. clip — for paper

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