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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
468
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: race · pitcher · cabinet · charge · cell · trunk · press · mine

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  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 — electricity
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. mine — for digging
  6. charge — in control
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. press — to push
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. charge — a price
  13. race — a contest
  14. press — a publisher
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. race — humankind
  18. cell — in biology
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. press — newspapers
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mine — an explosive
  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