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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 116 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. charge — a price
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mate — to breed
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. charge — electricity
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wound — an injury
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. mate — a friend
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. wound — an injury
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. wind — moving air
  19. charge — in control
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mate — a partner

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