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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. row — to paddle
  5. race — humankind
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. mug — a cup
  8. bear — the animal
  9. race — the arms race
  10. snap — to click
  11. row — a line
  12. race — a contest
  13. mug — a face
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. charge — in control
  17. bear — the animal
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. charge — a price
  20. cold — an illness
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. mug — to rob
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cold — the Cold War

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