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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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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: cold · net · bat · charge · race · bear · pass · fine

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. fine — high quality
  3. net — in sport
  4. pass — a permit
  5. net — after costs
  6. race — humankind
  7. charge — in control
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. charge — a price
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. charge — electricity
  12. race — a contest
  13. cold — an illness
  14. race — the arms race
  15. net — for catching
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fine — all right
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bear — the animal
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. bat — in an idiom

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