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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 · last · bat · mark · kick · spell · cold · season

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. charge — electricity
  4. last — to go on
  5. cold — not warm
  6. last — finally
  7. mark — a grade
  8. charge — in control
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cold — an illness
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. season — in sport
  15. last — final
  16. spell — a short time
  17. mark — a trace
  18. charge — a price
  19. season — of the year
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — magic
  23. bat — the animal
  24. mark — to pay attention

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