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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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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 · toast · stick · mug · charge · row · snap · game

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. charge — in control
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. race — the arms race
  8. mug — a cup
  9. charge — a price
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. charge — electricity
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. race — humankind
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. mug — to rob
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. row — to paddle
  21. mug — a face
  22. snap — to click
  23. row — a line
  24. toast — bread

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