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

Word bank: charge · chair · fall · kick · race · straw · ruler · roll

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. fall — to drop
  3. race — the arms race
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. roll — a cake
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. fall — the season
  10. charge — electricity
  11. kick — in football
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. race — humankind
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a leader
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. fall — to drop
  21. roll — a list
  22. charge — in control
  23. race — a contest
  24. ruler — for measuring

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