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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: wound · race · charge · pitcher · mine · kick · squash · cabinet

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. race — humankind
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. race — the arms race
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. race — a contest
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. charge — electricity
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. charge — a price
  15. kick — in football
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. charge — in control
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. squash — the sport
  24. wound — an injury

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