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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: coach · bat · kid · rule · charge · clip · wake · chip

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. charge — in control
  3. kid — child
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. charge — a price
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. rule — government
  8. clip — to cut
  9. chip — to eat
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wake — a trail
  12. charge — electricity
  13. clip — for paper
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. clip — a video
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. chip — for betting
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bat — the animal
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. coach — a trainer

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