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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 120 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 · fan · cold · cell · pop · ball · trunk · drill

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. charge — electricity
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cell — in biology
  6. charge — a price
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. drill — army training
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. charge — in control
  14. cold — not warm
  15. drill — a practice
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone
  19. ball — a great time
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pop — music
  22. drill — the tool
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pop — soda

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