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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 120 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: charge · bear · fall · spell · wind · degree · kick · tear

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. spell — magic
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. charge — in control
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bear — the animal
  8. charge — electricity
  9. kick — in football
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wind — moving air
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wind — moving air
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bear — the animal
  19. fall — to drop
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. degree — an amount
  23. fall — the season
  24. kick — with a leg

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