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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: net · file · dip · charge · race · snap · cell · saw

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. charge — electricity
  3. file — a document
  4. snap — to click
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. file — a line of people
  7. net — for catching
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. saw — the tool
  10. race — humankind
  11. file — a tool
  12. cell — a phone
  13. charge — in control
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. race — the arms race
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. saw — the tool
  21. cell — in biology
  22. charge — a price
  23. dip — to sink
  24. cell — in a prison

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