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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: kid · race · rash · roll · degree · charge · face · band

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. charge — in control
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. face — to point toward
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. charge — electricity
  7. rash — hasty
  8. kid — to tease
  9. race — humankind
  10. roll — a cake
  11. race — the arms race
  12. charge — a price
  13. band — a ring
  14. race — a contest
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. kid — child
  17. degree — temperature
  18. band — a music group
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — part of the head
  23. roll — a list
  24. rash — a series

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