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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. tear — from crying
  3. face — part of the head
  4. kid — to tease
  5. charge — a price
  6. current — electric
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. current — of water
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — the arms race
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. tear — from crying
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — in music
  17. race — humankind
  18. tear — to rip
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. face — to point toward
  21. sharp — clever
  22. charge — in control
  23. current — happening now
  24. face — to confront

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