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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: charge · drill · race · rash · ruler · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — a price
  4. rash — hasty
  5. drill — a practice
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. row — a line
  8. rash — a series
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. charge — in control
  11. race — the arms race
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. race — a contest
  17. row — to paddle
  18. race — humankind

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