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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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. charge — in control
  2. bat — the animal
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. charge — electricity
  5. land — to come down
  6. cell — a phone
  7. net — for catching
  8. land — a country
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. net — after costs
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. charge — a price
  14. cell — in biology
  15. tube — the underground
  16. roll — a list
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. net — in sport
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. land — ground
  23. tube — a container
  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