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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: wind · charge · ground · chair · trunk · dip · drill · capital

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. charge — a price
  3. wind — moving air
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. capital — a city
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. ground — crushed
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. drill — the tool
  13. charge — electricity
  14. drill — army training
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wind — moving air
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. ground — a position
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. capital — money
  21. charge — in control
  22. ground — the earth
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. dip — to sink

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