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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  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. trunk — of an elephant
  2. charge — a price
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wake — a trail
  5. charge — electricity
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. charge — in control
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. row — a line
  16. capital — money
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. capital — a city
  21. row — to paddle
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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