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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: rock · race · mate · capital · court · track · cue · charge

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. cue — a signal
  3. race — humankind
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. charge — a price
  7. mate — a partner
  8. race — a contest
  9. charge — electricity
  10. rock — a stone
  11. race — the arms race
  12. rock — music
  13. cue — for pool
  14. track — a path
  15. track — to keep track
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mate — to breed
  18. capital — a city
  19. court — of law
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. capital — money
  22. cue — a hint
  23. track — a song
  24. charge — in control

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