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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: field · charge · net · cold · mine · wound · ground · object

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. charge — a price
  3. object — a thing
  4. field — farmland
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. object — an aim
  9. cold — an illness
  10. net — in sport
  11. charge — electricity
  12. mine — for digging
  13. net — for catching
  14. field — a subject
  15. ground — crushed
  16. field — for sport
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. object — to protest
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cold — not warm
  21. net — after costs
  22. charge — in control
  23. ground — a position
  24. wound — an injury

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