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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. race — humankind
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. race — the arms race
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. band — a ring
  9. charge — a price
  10. field — a subject
  11. date — the fruit
  12. band — a music group
  13. mug — a cup
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. field — for sport
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. staff — employees
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. mug — to rob
  21. charge — in control
  22. mug — a face
  23. field — farmland
  24. race — a contest

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