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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · key · cold · staff · hand · bat · race · charge

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. charge — electricity
  3. game — a match
  4. staff — employees
  5. cold — not warm
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. charge — a price
  9. key — in music
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. key — for a lock
  13. cold — an illness
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. hand — help
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. key — the most important part
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bat — the animal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. charge — in control

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