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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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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: ruler · kid · band · mine · wind · race · tear · charge

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. kid — child
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — a contest
  6. tear — from crying
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. race — the arms race
  9. wind — moving air
  10. band — a ring
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. charge — electricity
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. charge — in control
  20. kid — to tease
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wind — moving air
  23. tear — from crying
  24. band — a music group

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