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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 120 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: content · kick · mine · vault · present · bat · charge · chair

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. content — happy
  3. chair — a leader
  4. content — the amount
  5. present — a gift
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. charge — a price
  10. vault — a safe
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. present — there
  21. present — the time now
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. charge — electricity

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