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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: charge · fall · drill · ball · hand · chair · cap · spring

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — a price
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cap — of ice
  7. drill — army training
  8. spring — the season
  9. ball — a great time
  10. cap — a lid
  11. ball — a dance
  12. fall — the season
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. spring — a coil
  15. hand — in cards
  16. drill — the tool
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. spring — of water
  20. chair — a leader
  21. drill — a practice
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cap — a hat
  24. chair — a professorship

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