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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 was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spring — the season
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — in control
  8. key — in music
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. ground — a position
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. spring — of water
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitch — completely
  17. charge — a price
  18. key — the most important part
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. key — for a lock
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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