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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: last · spring · shower · track · land · wind · firm · charge

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. firm — decided
  3. track — to keep track
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. track — a path
  7. charge — in control
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. firm — a company
  11. land — to come down
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. charge — a price
  14. spring — of water
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. spring — the season
  17. land — a country
  18. firm — steady
  19. wind — moving air
  20. spring — a coil
  21. charge — electricity
  22. land — ground
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — final

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