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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 120 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: temple · drill · march · chip · bat · pound · race · charge

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. charge — electricity
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — a practice
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — in control
  11. march — the month
  12. chip — to eat
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. pound — a weight
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — a contest
  19. march — music
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. march — the month
  24. pound — to hit hard

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