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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.

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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: kid · charge · file · bear · rash · bass · race · saw

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — the arms race
  4. file — a document
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bass — low music
  8. charge — electricity
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. race — humankind
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. file — a line of people
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child
  19. saw — the tool
  20. rash — a series
  21. bass — the fish
  22. charge — a price
  23. file — a tool
  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