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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: charge · ground · stick · nail · jam · bat · last · cold

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. ground — the earth
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. ground — a position
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. last — to go on
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. charge — electricity
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. charge — in control
  15. ground — crushed
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bat — the animal
  19. charge — a price
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. jam — in traffic

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