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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. charge — in control
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. fall — to drop
  7. race — the arms race
  8. last — final
  9. charge — a price
  10. last — finally
  11. band — a music group
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fall — the season
  14. present — the time now
  15. net — in sport
  16. race — a contest
  17. charge — electricity
  18. fall — to drop
  19. race — humankind
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. present — there
  23. last — to go on
  24. band — a ring

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