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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: ball · bore · last · charge · land · cold · pop · toast

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cold — not warm
  3. land — to come down
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bore — to tire
  6. ball — a great time
  7. land — a country
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. ball — a dance
  10. toast — bread
  11. land — ground
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. charge — electricity
  15. bore — to drill
  16. charge — a price
  17. last — to go on
  18. charge — in control
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pop — soda
  21. last — finally
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — music
  24. cold — an illness

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