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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: charge · race · roll · hide · kick · straw · wind · fan

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. charge — a price
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wind — moving air
  6. charge — electricity
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. race — humankind
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wind — moving air
  19. charge — in control
  20. roll — a list
  21. kick — in football
  22. race — a contest
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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