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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: charge · field · race · kick · root · rush · wind · last

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. last — to go on
  3. field — for sport
  4. race — a contest
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. charge — in control
  8. charge — electricity
  9. root — the cause
  10. race — humankind
  11. last — finally
  12. rush — hurry
  13. field — a subject
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — of a word
  16. kick — in football
  17. last — final
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. field — farmland
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. race — the arms race

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