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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: key · rule · mouse · shower · charge · field · ground · prune

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. rule — a law
  3. ground — a position
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. key — in music
  6. shower — to wash
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. ground — the earth
  9. shower — rain
  10. charge — in control
  11. ground — crushed
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. charge — a price
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. rule — government
  18. prune — to trim
  19. key — the most important part
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. prune — to trim
  23. key — for a lock
  24. field — a subject

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