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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: chair · race · track · rash · foot · tear · charge · cap

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. foot — a measure
  4. track — to keep track
  5. race — a contest
  6. tear — from crying
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rash — a series
  9. chair — a leader
  10. race — humankind
  11. tear — from crying
  12. charge — in control
  13. cap — a hat
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. track — a path
  17. charge — electricity
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. track — a song
  20. cap — of ice
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. cap — a lid
  23. rash — hasty
  24. tear — to rip

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