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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: bat · rule · stem · cue · pop · hide · charge · fan

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cue — a hint
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. charge — in control
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pop — music
  12. charge — a price
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. rule — government
  15. stem — to come from
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — to visit
  18. cue — for pool
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rule — a law
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. cue — a signal
  24. bat — for baseball

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