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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: fan · land · mine · wound · wind · perch · charge · spell

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. charge — in control
  3. mine — for digging
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. spell — a short time
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. land — a country
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. charge — a price
  19. charge — electricity
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. land — to come down
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. land — ground
  24. wind — moving air

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