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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: race · hand · nail · straw · chest · game · shower · charge

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. chest — a box
  4. hand — help
  5. chest — of your body
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. race — a contest
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. game — wild animals
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. race — humankind
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. race — the arms race
  16. charge — a price
  17. hand — in cards
  18. chest — of your body
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. charge — in control
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. shower — to wash
  23. game — a match
  24. straw — a straw man

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