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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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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: stick · charge · saw · bat · chest · toast · bowl · kid

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. chest — a box
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. chest — of your body
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — electricity
  11. toast — bread
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bat — the animal
  14. charge — in control
  15. kid — child
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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