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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. fall — the season
  3. wind — moving air
  4. row — a line
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. charge — in control
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. charge — a price
  12. row — to paddle
  13. stock — goods
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. current — happening now
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. fall — to drop
  22. current — of water
  23. snap — to click
  24. current — electric

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