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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: root · fall · wind · charge · leaves · pop · last · bat

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. fall — to drop
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a word
  5. charge — in control
  6. fall — the season
  7. pop — soda
  8. fall — to drop
  9. last — to go on
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. root — of a plant
  12. last — finally
  13. charge — a price
  14. pop — music
  15. last — final
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wind — to turn a key

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