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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: mate · charge · clip · lie · court · racket · bowl · bat

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. lie — to recline
  6. mate — a partner
  7. charge — a price
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. mate — a friend
  12. charge — in control
  13. clip — for paper
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. mate — to breed
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. court — for sport
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. court — of a king
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. clip — to cut
  23. court — of law
  24. clip — a video

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