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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: sharp · bat · file · court · spell · bound · pitcher · charge

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. spell — magic
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bound — obliged
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. sharp — clever
  8. court — of a king
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. spell — letters
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. file — a line of people
  14. charge — a price
  15. file — a tool
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of law
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bat — the animal
  21. spell — a short time
  22. charge — in control
  23. file — a document
  24. charge — electricity

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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