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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: ground · key · charge · land · content · chest · rock · fall

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. chest — a box
  3. rock — music
  4. charge — a price
  5. fall — to drop
  6. content — the amount
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rock — a stone
  9. key — the most important part
  10. ground — crushed
  11. charge — electricity
  12. key — for a lock
  13. land — to come down
  14. key — in music
  15. charge — in control
  16. ground — the earth
  17. content — happy
  18. land — a country
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. chest — of your body
  23. land — ground
  24. rock — to move gently

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