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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: craft · chip · charge · season · ground · cell · bat · lie

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. charge — electricity
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. ground — crushed
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — a phone
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cell — in biology
  11. ground — the earth
  12. charge — a price
  13. craft — a skill
  14. season — in sport
  15. bat — the animal
  16. lie — to recline
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. ground — a position
  19. chip — to eat
  20. season — of the year
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chip — for betting
  24. charge — in control

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