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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 120 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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. band — a music group
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. spell — magic
  6. root — of a word
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. spell — letters
  10. mate — to breed
  11. spell — a short time
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a plant
  14. row — to paddle
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. race — humankind
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. charge — electricity
  19. row — a line
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. charge — a price
  24. band — a ring

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