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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 120 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: mate · charge · land · race · row · clip · perch · rash

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mate — to breed
  5. race — humankind
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. land — a country
  8. row — a line
  9. land — to come down
  10. charge — electricity
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. land — ground
  13. clip — to cut
  14. race — a contest
  15. clip — a video
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. rash — a series
  19. row — to paddle
  20. charge — in control
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rash — hasty
  23. perch — the fish
  24. charge — a price

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