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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — all right
  6. charge — a price
  7. fine — high quality
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wind — moving air
  12. shower — rain
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. land — a country
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — to come down
  19. charge — electricity
  20. tear — to rip
  21. hand — help
  22. land — ground
  23. kick — in football
  24. hand — in cards

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