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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 120 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 · spring · bat · charge · ground · wind · last · mouse

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  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. ground — the earth
  2. last — final
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bat — the animal
  7. field — for sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. field — farmland
  10. charge — electricity
  11. field — a subject
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. spring — the season
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spring — of water
  18. ground — a position
  19. spring — a coil
  20. last — to go on
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. last — finally
  23. charge — a price
  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