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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bear · net · wind · fan · fine · charge · last · cold

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — finally
  4. net — after costs
  5. bear — the animal
  6. net — for catching
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cold — an illness
  9. charge — in control
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. fine — all right
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. fine — high quality
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wind — moving air
  16. charge — electricity
  17. last — to go on
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. last — final
  21. charge — a price
  22. net — in sport
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fine — a penalty

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