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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: charge · wound · nail · bat · chair · mine · straw · temple

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. charge — electricity
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. charge — in control
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wound — an injury
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. mine — for digging
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. temple — a place of worship

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