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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: fan · degree · charge · staff · bat · court · club · content

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. charge — a price
  4. club — for golf
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. staff — employees
  8. content — happy
  9. staff — employees
  10. charge — electricity
  11. court — for sport
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. staff — a stick
  16. content — the amount
  17. bat — the animal
  18. club — a group
  19. degree — an amount
  20. club — for dancing
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. degree — temperature
  23. charge — in control
  24. fan — a supporter

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