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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. kid — to tease
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. charge — in control
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. present — the time now
  10. bat — the animal
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. charge — electricity
  14. chip — for betting
  15. kid — child
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. present — there
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chair — a leader
  21. charge — a price
  22. present — a gift
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. chip — to eat

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