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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.

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: charge · patient · mine · clip · race · ground · hide · racket

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. race — humankind
  4. charge — a price
  5. mine — for digging
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. charge — in control
  10. clip — to cut
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. ground — a position
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. race — the arms race
  19. clip — for paper
  20. ground — the earth
  21. clip — a video
  22. charge — electricity
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. ground — crushed

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