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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: charge · last · key · wind · rash · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. key — in music
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. charge — a price
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. last — to go on
  7. key — the most important part
  8. rash — hasty
  9. last — final
  10. charge — electricity
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. rash — a series
  15. charge — in control
  16. wind — moving air
  17. key — for a lock
  18. last — finally

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