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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: ground · cold · wound · fan · row · pit · charge · season

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. charge — in control
  3. cold — not warm
  4. ground — the earth
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pit — a hole
  11. ground — crushed
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pit — in a race
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. charge — electricity
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. season — in sport
  19. ground — a position
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. season — of the year
  22. charge — a price
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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