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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. wind — moving air
  3. prune — to trim
  4. press — a publisher
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wound — an injury
  7. file — a tool
  8. wind — moving air
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. charge — electricity
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. row — a line
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. row — to paddle
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. file — a document
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. wound — an injury
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — to push
  23. charge — in control
  24. file — a line of people

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