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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. ground — crushed
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pound — a weight
  6. charge — a price
  7. charge — electricity
  8. ground — a position
  9. land — to come down
  10. spell — a short time
  11. land — a country
  12. spell — magic
  13. cold — not warm
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ground — the earth
  17. land — ground
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. spell — letters
  20. charge — in control
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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