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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · mate · wind · bat · nail · charge · saw · degree

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — a price
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mate — to breed
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mate — a friend
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — an amount
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. mate — a partner
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. bat — the animal
  23. degree — temperature
  24. charge — in control

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