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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 · saw · charge · mouse · net · band · game · bear

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. net — in sport
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. band — a music group
  8. saw — the tool
  9. charge — electricity
  10. game — wild animals
  11. saw — the tool
  12. charge — in control
  13. bat — the animal
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. net — after costs
  22. charge — a price
  23. net — for catching
  24. bat — for baseball

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