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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 · cold · board · spring · coach · pound · hand · mug

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pound — a weight
  4. mug — a face
  5. charge — electricity
  6. spring — the season
  7. mug — to rob
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. spring — of water
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. board — a committee
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. charge — in control
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. mug — a cup
  17. charge — a price
  18. hand — in cards
  19. spring — a coil
  20. hand — help
  21. board — to get on
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. board — a flat piece

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