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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: chest · suit · bat · spring · game · charge · rule · kid

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. suit — to fit
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. charge — electricity
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. spring — of water
  10. charge — in control
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spring — the season
  13. rule — government
  14. suit — clothes
  15. game — wild animals
  16. suit — in cards
  17. chest — a box
  18. bat — the animal
  19. charge — a price
  20. rule — a law
  21. kid — child
  22. spring — a coil
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — to tease

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