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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bank — for money
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. charge — electricity
  5. degree — from a university
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — temperature
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bank — for money
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bank — of a river
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. charge — a price
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. charge — in control

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