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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. race — a contest
  3. charge — electricity
  4. rule — government
  5. race — humankind
  6. charge — a price
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. charge — in control
  16. race — the arms race
  17. rule — a law
  18. kick — in football

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