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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: bound · ground · squash · fork · charge · field · game · fall

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  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. field — farmland
  2. game — a match
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. squash — to crush
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — the earth
  7. bound — obliged
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bound — tied together
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. charge — a price
  12. fall — to drop
  13. field — for sport
  14. fall — to drop
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fall — the season
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — the sport
  19. game — wild animals
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. field — a subject
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bound — certain
  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