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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: land · tear · season · charge · bowl · mate · kid · rock

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. season — in sport
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. mate — a partner
  7. kid — to tease
  8. mate — a friend
  9. land — to come down
  10. rock — a stone
  11. land — ground
  12. charge — a price
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. tear — to rip
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mate — to breed
  18. charge — in control
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. land — a country
  21. season — of the year
  22. rock — music
  23. kid — child
  24. tear — from crying

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