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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 116 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: pound · stem · club · land · charge · snap · march · bat

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. land — ground
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. club — a group
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. march — music
  10. charge — electricity
  11. march — the month
  12. charge — a price
  13. charge — in control
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. bat — the animal
  16. club — for golf
  17. land — a country
  18. club — for dancing
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. march — the month
  22. land — to come down
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pound — a weight

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