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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: squash · bat · charge · kick · perch · branch · chest · spell

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. charge — electricity
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bat — the animal
  5. charge — a price
  6. perch — the fish
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. spell — letters
  13. chest — a box
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spell — magic
  17. charge — in control
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. branch — a division
  21. spell — a short time
  22. kick — in football
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. perch — for a bird

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