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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. lean — thin
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lean — to bend
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. capital — a city
  11. cell — in biology
  12. march — the month
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. capital — money
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. charge — in control
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. march — music
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. charge — a price

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