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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. lean — to bend
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lean — thin
  7. saw — the tool
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. last — final
  11. court — of law
  12. saw — the tool
  13. race — the arms race
  14. last — finally
  15. tear — from crying
  16. court — of a king
  17. charge — in control
  18. wound — an injury
  19. charge — electricity
  20. race — humankind
  21. court — for sport
  22. race — a contest
  23. tear — to rip
  24. last — to go on

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