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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. row — to paddle
  3. charge — a price
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. spring — the season
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fall — the season
  11. file — a document
  12. hand — help
  13. charge — electricity
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. charge — in control
  17. hand — in cards
  18. file — a tool
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. row — a line
  22. file — a line of people
  23. fall — to drop
  24. spring — of water

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