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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 120 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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. charge — a price
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. spell — letters
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. race — the arms race
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. race — a contest
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. content — happy
  11. deal — to handle
  12. charge — electricity
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. content — the amount
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. charge — in control
  17. spell — magic
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bat — the animal
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. race — humankind
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. spell — a short time

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