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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. charge — in control
  4. hand — in cards
  5. race — humankind
  6. fall — the season
  7. race — the arms race
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bat — the animal
  10. hand — help
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mate — to breed
  14. fall — to drop
  15. charge — a price
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — a friend
  21. race — a contest
  22. wax — to grow
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wax — in the ear

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