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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. charge — a price
  3. wound — an injury
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. mug — a cup
  6. capital — a city
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rule — a law
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wind — moving air
  11. capital — money
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. ball — a great time
  14. charge — electricity
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. mug — a face
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. rule — government
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — in a road
  22. mug — to rob
  23. fork — a garden tool
  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