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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: ground · bat · charge · chair · lash · date · hand · rash

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bat — the animal
  3. charge — in control
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. charge — electricity
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — hasty
  9. hand — help
  10. ground — a position
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. hand — in cards
  13. charge — a price
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. rash — a series
  21. ground — the earth
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. date — the fruit
  24. hand — part of the body

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