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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 116 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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. race — a contest
  3. drill — the tool
  4. ball — a great time
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. shower — rain
  7. cold — an illness
  8. race — humankind
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. charge — electricity
  12. charge — a price
  13. ball — a dance
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. shower — to wash
  17. scale — size or range
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. scale — in music
  21. cold — not warm
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. straw — dry grass

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