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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: drill · charge · field · wound · snap · ground · leaves · court

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. court — of law
  3. snap — to click
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wound — an injury
  10. drill — the tool
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. ground — crushed
  13. charge — a price
  14. charge — electricity
  15. field — a subject
  16. charge — in control
  17. wound — an injury
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. ground — a position
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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