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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: charge · wound · date · cabinet · stock · toast · rule · bat

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. charge — a price
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. charge — electricity
  6. stock — shares
  7. toast — bread
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stock — goods
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rule — government
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. date — the fruit
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. charge — in control
  20. rule — a law
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. wound — an injury

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