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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. spring — the season
  4. roll — a cake
  5. spring — of water
  6. swing — music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. swing — in golf
  11. charge — in control
  12. tear — to rip
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. land — ground
  17. roll — a list
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. charge — electricity
  20. swing — to play on
  21. spring — a coil
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. foot — a measure

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