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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
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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: plane · wind · land · chair · snap · ground · charge · field

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. charge — in control
  3. snap — to click
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ground — a position
  6. chair — a leader
  7. land — ground
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. charge — a price
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wind — moving air
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. field — farmland
  14. land — a country
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. ground — the earth
  17. field — for sport
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. ground — crushed
  20. plane — a tool
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. charge — electricity
  24. field — a subject

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