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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. charge — in control
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. charge — electricity
  6. clip — a video
  7. bank — for money
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bank — for money
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. charge — a price
  13. bear — the animal
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bear — the animal
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bank — of a river
  22. clip — for paper
  23. club — for dancing
  24. cold — the Cold War

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