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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: charge · cell · lash · bat · kick · wax · content · prune

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wax — to grow
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cell — a phone
  10. content — the amount
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. kick — in football
  13. charge — electricity
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. charge — in control
  17. cell — in biology
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. content — happy

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