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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. suit — to fit
  6. last — finally
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. net — for catching
  9. drill — a practice
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. charge — electricity
  13. charge — a price
  14. drill — army training
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. net — in sport
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. drill — the tool
  20. charge — in control
  21. suit — clothes
  22. net — after costs
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spring — a coil

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