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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. degree — an amount
  3. race — a contest
  4. toast — bread
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. charge — in control
  7. spell — a short time
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. land — ground
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. charge — a price
  14. race — humankind
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. spell — magic
  19. race — the arms race
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. land — to come down
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. land — a country
  24. spell — letters

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