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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: wave · chair · prune · ground · straw · bark · field · charge

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  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. charge — electricity
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. field — a subject
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. field — farmland
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. ground — a position
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. ground — crushed
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bark — to shout
  16. prune — to trim
  17. field — for sport
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. charge — a price
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. prune — to trim
  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