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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bat — the animal
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. charge — a price
  6. ground — the earth
  7. kid — child
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — a position
  10. kid — to tease
  11. sharp — clever
  12. club — for dancing
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. club — a group
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. squash — to crush
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. charge — electricity
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. club — for golf

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