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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. charge — in control
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chest — a box
  15. wind — moving air
  16. field — a subject
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. field — farmland
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. field — for sport
  22. charge — a price
  23. charge — electricity
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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