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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: mine · bat · content · rule · court · charge · track · net

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. charge — in control
  3. rule — a law
  4. charge — electricity
  5. track — a song
  6. charge — a price
  7. court — of law
  8. track — to keep track
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. net — for catching
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. net — after costs
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. court — of a king
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. net — in sport
  17. content — happy
  18. track — a path
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. content — the amount
  21. court — for sport
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rule — government

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