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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. charge — a price
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rash — a series
  7. ball — a great time
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. spring — of water
  11. mug — to rob
  12. game — a match
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. game — wild animals
  16. mug — a face
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spring — the season
  20. branch — a division
  21. ball — a dance
  22. charge — in control
  23. mug — a cup
  24. charge — electricity

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