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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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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 · ground · pound · rule · pitch · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. ground — a position
  3. charge — a price
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. rule — a law
  6. kid — child
  7. ground — crushed
  8. charge — in control
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — a weight
  12. charge — electricity
  13. rule — government
  14. ground — the earth
  15. pitch — completely
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pitch — a sales talk

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