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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: craft · cold · ground · clip · mine · charge · band · squash

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — boats
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. ground — crushed
  7. clip — a video
  8. charge — in control
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. craft — a skill
  12. clip — to cut
  13. band — a ring
  14. charge — a price
  15. mine — for digging
  16. ground — a position
  17. squash — the sport
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. band — a music group
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. cold — not warm
  22. clip — for paper
  23. charge — electricity
  24. squash — to crush

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