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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.

Make a worksheet

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: racket · bat · wax · snap · mine · charge · season · file

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. charge — electricity
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. file — a document
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mine — for digging
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. season — of the year
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. charge — in control
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. file — a tool
  17. season — in sport
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. snap — to click
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bat — the animal

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