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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
468
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: cabinet · land · squash · racket · content · charge · bat · spell

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — in control
  3. content — happy
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. content — the amount
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. squash — the sport
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. spell — letters
  12. land — ground
  13. squash — to crush
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. spell — a short time
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. land — a country
  19. charge — a price
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. spell — magic
  23. land — to come down
  24. bat — the animal

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