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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 · degree · charge · pitcher · chair · mine · cabinet · tube

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. charge — electricity
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mine — for digging
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. charge — a price
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chair — a leader
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. bat — the animal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. tube — a container
  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