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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rash — a series
  4. net — after costs
  5. rash — hasty
  6. charge — electricity
  7. spell — a short time
  8. game — wild animals
  9. spell — letters
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. spell — magic
  13. chair — a leader
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — in sport
  20. game — a match
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. charge — in control

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