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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 116 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: charge · bat · chair · dip · cold · straw · game · wave

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. bat — the animal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. charge — electricity
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. game — wild animals
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. charge — a price
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. game — a match
  22. cold — not warm
  23. charge — in control
  24. bat — in an idiom

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