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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. content — happy
  3. charge — in control
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. charge — a price
  7. charge — electricity
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. board — to get on
  14. spell — letters
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. content — the amount
  17. wind — moving air
  18. spell — magic
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. ball — a dance
  22. spell — a short time
  23. board — a committee
  24. fall — the season

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