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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. face — to confront
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chest — a box
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mug — a face
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. bat — the animal
  9. charge — in control
  10. mug — a cup
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. charge — electricity
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. club — for dancing
  19. face — part of the head
  20. club — for golf
  21. face — to point toward
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mug — to rob
  24. club — a group

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