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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 · perch · ground · firm · spring · roll · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. firm — a company
  3. roll — a cake
  4. perch — the fish
  5. charge — in control
  6. firm — decided
  7. ground — the earth
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. ground — a position
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ground — crushed
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. charge — a price
  18. firm — steady
  19. spring — the season
  20. roll — a list
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. charge — electricity
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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