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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. charge — electricity
  3. kick — in football
  4. file — a tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. charge — in control
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. current — of water
  10. wind — moving air
  11. current — happening now
  12. stock — shares
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bound — certain
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bound — obliged
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. date — the fruit
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. current — electric
  22. stock — goods
  23. charge — a price
  24. bound — tied together

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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