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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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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: fan · ground · row · charge · fork · kid · cold · bay

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. row — a line
  6. charge — electricity
  7. ground — a position
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. kid — child
  13. charge — a price
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cold — not warm
  20. ground — the earth
  21. charge — in control
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cold — an illness
  24. ground — crushed

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