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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: kick · rush · charge · bulb · fan · court · cell · saw

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bulb — for light
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. charge — in control
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. charge — a price
  9. court — of law
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. court — for sport
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. rush — hurry
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. court — of a king
  18. kick — in football
  19. charge — electricity
  20. bulb — for light
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. cell — in biology
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cell — in a prison

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