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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 120 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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. file — a line of people
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. current — of water
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. clip — a video
  10. ball — a dance
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. wind — moving air
  14. file — a tool
  15. wind — moving air
  16. current — happening now
  17. clip — to cut
  18. ball — a great time
  19. clip — for paper
  20. file — a document
  21. charge — electricity
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. charge — in control
  24. current — electric

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