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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. spell — a short time
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bass — low music
  6. last — finally
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — a contest
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. race — humankind
  13. rule — a law
  14. spell — letters
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rule — government
  20. charge — a price
  21. spell — magic
  22. bass — the fish
  23. charge — in control
  24. rest — what's left

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