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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: charge · date · tear · race · nail · field · mug · lash

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. tear — from crying
  3. charge — electricity
  4. mug — to rob
  5. tear — to rip
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. date — the fruit
  8. charge — in control
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. field — a subject
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. field — for sport
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. race — humankind
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mug — a face
  19. mug — a cup
  20. race — a contest
  21. field — farmland
  22. race — the arms race
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. nail — for a hammer

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