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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 116 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. charge — electricity
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. charge — a price
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bat — the animal
  8. net — for catching
  9. chip — for betting
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. chip — to eat
  12. net — after costs
  13. press — to push
  14. kid — to tease
  15. lean — to bend
  16. press — newspapers
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. charge — in control
  19. rule — government
  20. net — in sport
  21. rule — a law
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bat — in an idiom

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