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

Word bank: pound · wind · wake · fall · mouse · charge · root · season

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. fall — to drop
  4. charge — electricity
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. root — of a plant
  8. wind — moving air
  9. root — of a word
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — a price
  15. season — in sport
  16. wake — a trail
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. season — of the year
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. fall — the season
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. fall — to drop
  23. root — the cause
  24. pound — a weight

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