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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's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. staff — employees
  3. wind — moving air
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. hand — in cards
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. scale — size or range
  10. staff — employees
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. scale — in music
  13. staff — a stick
  14. hand — help
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. charge — electricity
  17. wind — moving air
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mine — for digging
  24. charge — in control

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