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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. game — a match
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. net — after costs
  5. charge — a price
  6. race — a contest
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rule — government
  10. charge — electricity
  11. prune — to trim
  12. race — humankind
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wound — an injury
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. net — for catching
  19. charge — in control
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. race — the arms race
  24. rule — a law

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