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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: wind · race · charge · march · fall · game · net · prune

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. charge — in control
  3. wind — moving air
  4. game — wild animals
  5. race — the arms race
  6. fall — to drop
  7. march — the month
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. net — for catching
  10. charge — electricity
  11. net — in sport
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — humankind
  16. charge — a price
  17. march — music
  18. net — after costs
  19. game — a match
  20. fall — to drop
  21. prune — to trim
  22. march — the month
  23. wind — moving air
  24. game — a kind of play

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