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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 116 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 · drill · hide · present · stem · land · wind · chair

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. charge — a price
  3. present — the time now
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. present — a gift
  9. drill — a practice
  10. chair — a leader
  11. land — a country
  12. present — there
  13. drill — the tool
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. stem — to come from
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. charge — in control
  21. charge — electricity
  22. wind — moving air
  23. land — to come down
  24. drill — army training

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