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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. wind — moving air
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. charge — in control
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. charge — electricity
  9. charge — a price
  10. file — a document
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. file — a tool
  17. spring — the season
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. spring — of water
  21. file — a line of people
  22. spring — a coil
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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