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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. charge — a price
  4. row — a line
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. charge — electricity
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. charge — in control
  9. wind — moving air
  10. season — in sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bore — to tire
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. season — of the year
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wind — moving air
  24. row — to paddle

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