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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. charge — electricity
  4. wind — moving air
  5. land — a country
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. file — a tool
  8. rush — hurry
  9. file — a document
  10. degree — an amount
  11. file — a line of people
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a plant
  14. degree — temperature
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. charge — in control
  17. degree — from a university
  18. charge — a price
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. wind — moving air
  21. root — of a word
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — ground
  24. mouse — for a computer

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