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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. charge — electricity
  3. snap — to click
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. charge — a price
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pound — a weight
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. charge — in control
  14. deal — to handle
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. track — a path
  17. mine — for digging
  18. track — to keep track
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. track — a song

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