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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: leaves · key · rush · cell · charge · row · wind · kid

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. key — the most important part
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. charge — electricity
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. charge — in control
  9. wind — moving air
  10. charge — a price
  11. cell — in biology
  12. kid — to tease
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. cell — a phone
  15. row — to paddle
  16. key — for a lock
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. row — a line
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. wind — moving air
  24. key — in music

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