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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: charge · mate · tear · stand · hand · racket · kick · file

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. charge — electricity
  4. hand — help
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. tear — from crying
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. kick — in football
  9. hand — in cards
  10. tear — from crying
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. mate — a friend
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. stand — to bear
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — to breed
  18. tear — to rip
  19. charge — a price
  20. file — a document
  21. charge — in control
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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