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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: rule · chest · net · bat · kid · charge · land · last

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. last — final
  3. land — to come down
  4. charge — a price
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. charge — electricity
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chest — of your body
  10. net — in sport
  11. kid — child
  12. rule — a law
  13. land — ground
  14. net — after costs
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. chest — a box
  17. land — a country
  18. kid — to tease
  19. last — to go on
  20. bat — the animal
  21. last — finally
  22. net — for catching
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rule — government

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