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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. last — to go on
  3. charge — a price
  4. last — final
  5. cell — a phone
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. charge — in control
  8. rash — a series
  9. race — a contest
  10. capital — a city
  11. charge — electricity
  12. fall — to drop
  13. capital — money
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. fall — the season
  16. squash — to crush
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. race — humankind
  19. last — finally
  20. rash — hasty
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. fall — to drop

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