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

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. file — a line of people
  5. track — a path
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. race — the arms race
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. race — a contest
  16. spring — of water
  17. rush — hurry
  18. spring — the season
  19. charge — in control
  20. track — a song
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. race — humankind
  24. charge — electricity

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