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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: lash · charge · wind · march · last · swing · pound · fan

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. swing — to play on
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. last — to go on
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. march — music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. charge — electricity
  10. march — the month
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. pound — a weight
  13. swing — music
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. last — final
  16. last — finally
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. charge — in control
  19. swing — in golf
  20. march — the month
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. charge — a price
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pound — to hit hard

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