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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. chair — a leader
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. race — a contest
  5. field — a subject
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. tear — from crying
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. game — wild animals
  12. tear — to rip
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. charge — a price
  15. firm — a company
  16. field — for sport
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. tear — from crying
  19. game — a match
  20. charge — in control
  21. firm — decided
  22. field — farmland
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. firm — steady

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