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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: bat · mug · saw · pound · charge · game · fan · cap

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. mug — a face
  4. game — a match
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. mug — a cup
  8. charge — in control
  9. bat — the animal
  10. game — wild animals
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. charge — electricity
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pound — a weight
  19. mug — to rob
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. cap — of ice
  23. charge — a price
  24. saw — the tool

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