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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: stem · court · mug · race · club · ground · wind · charge

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. mug — a face
  4. court — of law
  5. charge — a price
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. ground — a position
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. club — a group
  10. ground — the earth
  11. club — for golf
  12. charge — electricity
  13. ground — crushed
  14. stem — to come from
  15. wind — moving air
  16. club — for dancing
  17. wind — moving air
  18. charge — in control
  19. mug — to rob
  20. race — a contest
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. race — humankind
  23. mug — a cup
  24. race — the arms race

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