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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: charge · bass · can · ground · race · mine · pitcher · pound

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. race — a contest
  3. charge — in control
  4. mine — for digging
  5. can — to be able to
  6. charge — a price
  7. charge — electricity
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bass — low music
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ground — the earth
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pound — a weight
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. ground — a position
  24. race — humankind

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