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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. wind — moving air
  3. charge — a price
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wind — moving air
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. clip — to cut
  11. charge — in control
  12. clip — a video
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — a position
  21. fine — all right
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. charge — electricity
  24. safe — out of danger

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