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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: wind · kick · charge · chip · cold · bear

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. chip — for betting
  5. charge — a price
  6. kick — in football
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bear — the animal
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bear — the animal
  13. charge — in control
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chip — to eat

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