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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: court · chest · cap · mark · bat · snap · current · charge

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. current — electric
  4. court — of a king
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cap — of ice
  7. current — happening now
  8. bat — the animal
  9. snap — to click
  10. mark — a trace
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. court — for sport
  13. chest — a box
  14. court — of law
  15. charge — a price
  16. mark — a grade
  17. current — of water
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. charge — in control
  20. chest — of your body
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. charge — electricity
  24. cap — a hat

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