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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 116 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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. present — a gift
  4. last — final
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. race — the arms race
  8. present — the time now
  9. march — music
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. charge — electricity
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. last — finally
  14. mate — to breed
  15. race — a contest
  16. last — to go on
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. charge — a price
  19. present — there
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. march — the month
  24. race — humankind

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