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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bass — low music
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bass — the fish
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. charge — in control
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pit — a hole
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. charge — electricity
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wake — a trail
  19. rush — hurry
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. fork — in a road

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