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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. charge — a price
  3. rash — a series
  4. spell — magic
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. band — a ring
  9. race — the arms race
  10. row — to paddle
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. spell — a short time
  13. charge — in control
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. rash — hasty
  17. row — a line
  18. pitch — completely
  19. charge — electricity
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — a law
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. rule — government
  24. band — a music group

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