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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: perch · straw · rule · wake · charge · trunk · race · bat

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — a contest
  4. rule — government
  5. bat — the animal
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. charge — a price
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wake — a trail
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. race — the arms race
  21. charge — in control
  22. rule — a law
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. perch — the fish

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