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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: straw · game · cell · charge · nail · kid · board · rash

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rash — a series
  3. charge — a price
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. rash — hasty
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. game — wild animals
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. game — a match
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. board — a committee
  17. kid — child
  18. charge — electricity
  19. cell — a phone
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. board — to get on
  23. charge — in control
  24. cell — in biology

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