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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: chip · bat · net · pit · charge · rash · cold · ball

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. net — after costs
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. charge — a price
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. rash — a series
  7. net — in sport
  8. ball — a great time
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. charge — in control
  14. net — for catching
  15. chip — for betting
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pit — in a race
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. chip — to eat
  24. charge — electricity

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