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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. race — humankind
  4. charge — a price
  5. kid — to tease
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. rule — a law
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. toast — bread
  10. rule — government
  11. file — a tool
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. race — the arms race
  17. file — a document
  18. charge — in control
  19. file — a line of people
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kid — child
  23. race — a contest
  24. pitch — completely

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