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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. clip — to cut
  3. charge — a price
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. charge — electricity
  8. stock — goods
  9. clip — a video
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. file — a document
  13. deal — to handle
  14. file — a line of people
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. file — a tool
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. stock — shares

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