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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wake — a trail
  3. net — for catching
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. shower — rain
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. kid — child
  12. charge — electricity
  13. charge — in control
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. net — in sport
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. charge — a price
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. net — after costs

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