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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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. bat — in an idiom
  4. charge — electricity
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. charge — in control
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. march — the month
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. hand — help
  16. march — music
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. march — the month

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