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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: foot · mine · land · charge · kid · pop · coach · object

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. charge — electricity
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. object — to protest
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. object — a thing
  13. land — ground
  14. charge — a price
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. foot — a measure
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pop — music
  22. mine — for digging
  23. object — an aim
  24. charge — in control

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