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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 116 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
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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: rule · race · charge · rash · spell · last · cold · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rule — a law
  3. charge — a price
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. race — humankind
  6. last — final
  7. charge — in control
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — letters
  10. charge — electricity
  11. last — finally
  12. land — to come down
  13. race — a contest
  14. last — to go on
  15. race — the arms race
  16. rash — hasty
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. rule — government
  19. spell — magic
  20. rash — a series
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. land — a country

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