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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 120 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: charge · wind · field · court · content · bay · bat · row

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. court — of a king
  3. content — the amount
  4. court — of law
  5. row — a line
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. charge — a price
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wind — moving air
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. court — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. wind — moving air
  17. charge — in control
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. content — happy
  21. bat — the animal
  22. field — for sport
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. charge — electricity

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