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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: band · tear · craft · kick · bat · charge · bowl · cold

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. charge — a price
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kick — in football
  12. band — a music group
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. band — a ring
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. charge — electricity
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bowl — to roll

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