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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: charge · clip · squash · bat · jam · wake · pitcher · kick

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. clip — to cut
  5. charge — a price
  6. squash — the sport
  7. kick — in football
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. charge — electricity
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bat — the animal
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. charge — in control
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. wake — before a funeral

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