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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: face · row · wind · stock · kid · deal · charge · cold

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. row — to paddle
  4. charge — in control
  5. kid — to tease
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stock — goods
  10. cold — an illness
  11. face — to confront
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. kid — child
  14. row — a line
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. face — part of the head
  18. stock — shares
  19. charge — electricity
  20. deal — to handle
  21. charge — a price
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. cold — not warm
  24. face — to point toward

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