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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. charge — electricity
  5. ball — a great time
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. ball — a dance
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. charge — in control
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bat — the animal
  23. charge — a price
  24. chair — to sit on

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