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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: fall · race · charge · band · rock · field · foot · wind

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. wind — moving air
  4. race — humankind
  5. rock — music
  6. field — for sport
  7. charge — in control
  8. rock — a stone
  9. race — a contest
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. race — the arms race
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fall — the season
  16. charge — a price
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. field — a subject
  20. band — a ring
  21. field — farmland
  22. fall — to drop
  23. band — a music group
  24. foot — a measure

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