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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ground — a position
  5. scale — size or range
  6. shower — to wash
  7. charge — electricity
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. charge — a price
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fine — all right
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. shower — rain
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. pop — soda
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. charge — in control
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — in music
  24. wind — moving air

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