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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. charge — a price
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. scale — in music
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. charge — electricity
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stock — shares
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. charge — in control
  19. bat — the animal
  20. stock — goods
  21. scale — size or range
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. wake — a trail

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