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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. race — a contest
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. land — a country
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — completely
  8. face — part of the head
  9. land — ground
  10. race — the arms race
  11. chip — to eat
  12. race — humankind
  13. face — to confront
  14. ball — a great time
  15. charge — electricity
  16. charge — a price
  17. shower — rain
  18. chip — for betting
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. face — to point toward
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. land — to come down
  24. charge — in control

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