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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: court · ground · tear · track · bulb · rest · wind · charge

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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. track — a path
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rest — what's left
  4. charge — a price
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. ground — crushed
  7. track — a song
  8. rest — a break
  9. wind — moving air
  10. court — of law
  11. tear — from crying
  12. charge — electricity
  13. bulb — for light
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. rest — what's left
  17. track — to keep track
  18. court — of a king
  19. ground — a position
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bulb — for light
  22. ground — the earth
  23. court — for sport
  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