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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: fall · charge · chest · ground · snap · roll · bat · stick

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. chest — of your body
  4. ground — a position
  5. charge — in control
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. charge — a price
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. roll — a list
  11. charge — electricity
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. fall — the season
  15. ground — crushed
  16. chest — a box
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. fall — to drop
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. chest — of your body
  22. roll — a cake
  23. snap — to click
  24. ground — the earth

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