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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: spring · net · ground · press · mine · track · charge · kid

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. kid — child
  3. charge — a price
  4. charge — electricity
  5. spring — the season
  6. kid — to tease
  7. net — for catching
  8. track — a path
  9. ground — a position
  10. press — a publisher
  11. charge — in control
  12. track — a song
  13. spring — of water
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. net — in sport
  16. press — to push
  17. track — to keep track
  18. mine — for digging
  19. spring — a coil
  20. net — after costs
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. press — newspapers
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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