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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. charge — a price
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. land — a country
  5. wind — moving air
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. charge — in control
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. branch — a division
  10. band — a ring
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wind — moving air
  17. charge — electricity
  18. land — to come down
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. game — a match
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. game — wild animals
  24. branch — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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