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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spell · chair · clip · charge · pop · race · face · straw

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. charge — electricity
  2. spell — a short time
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. spell — magic
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — humankind
  9. pop — music
  10. face — part of the head
  11. clip — for paper
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. clip — to cut
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. clip — a video
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — to visit
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. face — to confront
  20. charge — a price
  21. face — to point toward
  22. race — the arms race
  23. spell — letters
  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