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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: snap · bound · present · mine · file · game · charge · bat

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. charge — a price
  3. present — the time now
  4. bound — certain
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. snap — to click
  7. bound — obliged
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. charge — electricity
  12. file — a document
  13. present — there
  14. file — a tool
  15. bound — tied together
  16. game — a match
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. charge — in control
  23. file — a line of people
  24. present — a gift

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