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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · club · racket · charge · net · spring · cold · bark

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. spring — of water
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bark — to shout
  6. club — for golf
  7. charge — a price
  8. club — for dancing
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. net — for catching
  11. club — a group
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. charge — electricity
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. charge — in control
  16. spring — the season
  17. cold — not warm
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cold — an illness
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — in sport
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. ground — a position
  24. racket — a loud noise

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