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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. mine — for digging
  3. net — for catching
  4. ground — the earth
  5. spring — a coil
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. saw — the tool
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — of a word
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. charge — in control
  14. net — after costs
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. pass — a permit
  17. saw — the tool
  18. root — the cause
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. net — in sport
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. charge — a price

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