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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. charge — a price
  3. charge — electricity
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. fall — to drop
  7. date — the fruit
  8. race — humankind
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. charge — in control
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. club — a group
  14. race — a contest
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. toast — bread
  17. race — the arms race
  18. capital — money
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. club — for golf
  21. squash — to crush
  22. capital — a city
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. club — for dancing

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