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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · charge · rock · bat · press · kid

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cell — in biology
  4. kid — child
  5. charge — in control
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. press — to push
  8. bat — the animal
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. rock — a stone
  12. charge — a price
  13. charge — electricity
  14. rock — music
  15. cell — a phone
  16. press — newspapers
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. press — a publisher

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