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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.

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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: race · cell · season · charge · bat · straw · pass · object

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. charge — a price
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. object — a thing
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cell — in biology
  8. object — to protest
  9. bat — the animal
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. charge — in control
  13. charge — electricity
  14. season — in sport
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. season — of the year
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pass — a permit
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. object — an aim
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. cell — in a prison

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