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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. charge — a price
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. charge — electricity
  5. firm — a company
  6. field — for sport
  7. last — final
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. shower — rain
  11. last — to go on
  12. cold — not warm
  13. last — finally
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. cold — an illness
  17. capital — a city
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. shower — to wash
  20. firm — decided
  21. charge — in control
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. capital — money
  24. firm — steady

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