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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: bat · kid · stock · rule · saw · charge · lean · dip

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. lean — thin
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. lean — to bend
  5. kid — to tease
  6. dip — to sink
  7. stock — shares
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. charge — electricity
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. rule — a law
  15. charge — a price
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rule — government
  19. saw — the tool
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bat — the animal
  23. charge — in control
  24. lean — to rest against

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