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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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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: lie · race · charge · cold · rash · band · pitcher · bear

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cold — not warm
  4. lie — to recline
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a music group
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. charge — in control
  12. charge — a price
  13. charge — electricity
  14. race — humankind
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bear — the animal
  21. race — a contest
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. cold — the Cold War

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