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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: cold · coach · charge · game · fan · wake · nail · ground

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. game — a match
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. cold — an illness
  9. charge — electricity
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. charge — a price
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. ground — the earth
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. charge — in control
  20. ground — a position
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wake — a trail
  23. ground — crushed
  24. cold — the Cold War

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