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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. bat — the animal
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. charge — in control
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. chip — to eat
  13. clip — for paper
  14. race — humankind
  15. chip — for betting
  16. race — a contest
  17. charge — electricity
  18. clip — a video
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — child

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