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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: scale · can · fan · squash · court · charge · bat · stick

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  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. court — for sport
  2. can — to be able to
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. court — of a king
  6. charge — in control
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. can — a tin
  9. squash — to crush
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. scale — in music
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. charge — electricity
  18. scale — size or range
  19. charge — a price
  20. can — a tin
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. court — of law
  23. squash — the sport
  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