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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: race · charge · bark · mine · cell · hand · patient · lie

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. charge — electricity
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. lie — to recline
  6. hand — in cards
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. charge — a price
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. cell — in biology
  11. race — humankind
  12. charge — in control
  13. race — a contest
  14. hand — help
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bark — to shout
  17. cell — a phone
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. lie — an untruth

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