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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. game — a match
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — a stone
  5. wound — an injury
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. fall — the season
  9. ground — crushed
  10. race — the arms race
  11. season — of the year
  12. fall — to drop
  13. season — in sport
  14. charge — in control
  15. race — a contest
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. charge — a price
  20. race — humankind
  21. ground — a position
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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