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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. race — the arms race
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. cell — a phone
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cell — in biology
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. race — humankind
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — a short time
  15. charge — in control
  16. spell — letters
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. charge — electricity
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. race — a contest
  24. nail — for a hammer

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