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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: rule · charge · ball · race · last · cell · row · stand

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. last — finally
  5. race — a contest
  6. row — to paddle
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. charge — electricity
  9. rule — government
  10. race — humankind
  11. last — final
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. rule — a law
  15. ball — a great time
  16. row — a line
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. last — to go on
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. charge — in control
  23. cell — in biology
  24. race — the arms race

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