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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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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: rock · bear · field · can · charge · ground · bat · kid

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. kid — child
  3. field — farmland
  4. charge — in control
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. ground — the earth
  7. kid — to tease
  8. can — to be able to
  9. can — a tin
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. charge — electricity
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. charge — a price
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. field — a subject
  16. bat — the animal
  17. field — for sport
  18. ground — a position
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. can — a tin
  24. rock — music

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