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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. charge — electricity
  6. snap — to click
  7. charge — in control
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. ball — a great time
  10. last — finally
  11. mine — for digging
  12. last — to go on
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. prune — to trim
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. last — final
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a dance
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. race — humankind
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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