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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: key · charge · patient · mate · fork · cap · content · bat

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. key — the most important part
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cap — of ice
  4. key — for a lock
  5. cap — a lid
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. mate — a partner
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. key — in music
  10. mate — a friend
  11. charge — electricity
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. charge — a price
  15. content — happy
  16. fork — in a road
  17. mate — to breed
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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