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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. cold — not warm
  4. season — in sport
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. season — of the year
  7. race — a contest
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — hurry
  10. march — the month
  11. charge — a price
  12. cold — an illness
  13. march — music
  14. race — humankind
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. march — the month
  23. charge — in control
  24. pitcher — a jug

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